Wednesday morning, news broke that former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici died at the age of 85.

Domenici served six terms in office and was widely respected in the state and beyond. Nearly immediately, remembrances and statements from New Mexico officials and others began flowing in, lauding Domenici, both from his fellow Republicans and Democrats who respected his work.

NM Political Report collected the statements throughout the day, many of which referenced his work on mental health and his support of New Mexico’s national labs.

Gov. Susana Martinez called it a “sad day for all New Mexicans.”

“His devotion to our state was evident throughout his lengthy career. He tirelessly...

State Sen. James White, R-Albuquerque, recently joined state legislators from around the country for a meeting of the Council of State Governments in Detroit, Michigan.

At one event, he and two others sat in a car. White wasn’t driving. Neither was anyone else in the car.

In fact, there was no steering wheel. Just a panic button.

The car didn’t go at highway speeds—in fact, it only went 15 MPH—but that was enough to impress him. White was at a test facility for autonomous cars.

More legislators might start taking rides like White’s in the future as more autonomous vehicles hit the roads—and as states grapple with what that means for existing motor vehicle laws.

While the...

On Aug. 16, New Mexico Political Report wrote about New Mexico’s dipping reserves. In Fiscal Year 2016, the reserve fund was at $146 million, and in Fiscal Year 2017, New Mexico was $67 million in the red.

Now, the Legislative Finance Committee has released its revenue forecast for the state.

Among the report’s highlights:

Preliminary FY 2017 ending reserve balances are $329 million. Projected FY 2018 ending reserve balances are $206 million.

Preliminary recurring revenue for Fiscal Year 2017 is $5.7 billion. That’s $140.4 million higher than the December 2016 consensus estimate, thanks in large part to gross receipts tax revenues.

Forecasts for corporate income tax called...

New Mexico’s savings keeps dropping —and now the state has one of the smallest cushions of any state in the nation. Even now, those reserves are still well below pre-recession levels.

If no new money were coming in and the state government could rely only on those reserves, there would only be enough cash to run the state for 8.4 days. That’s according to The Pew Charitable Trusts and its analysis of states’ fiscal health.

In Fiscal Year 2016, the amount of money New Mexico held back and put into savings—to pay for unexpected expenses or shore up the budget when revenues dip—was at its lowest level since 2000, according to Pew. That year, the fund was at $146 million...