Trip Jennings

2 months ago | nmindepth.com | Trip Jennings

What would have been the first increase to the state’s alcohol excise tax in 30 years died Friday, a victim of a disagreement between Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state lawmakers over tax policy. Lujan Grisham vetoed the Legislature’s omnibus tax package, HB14, which included the proposed tax increase on alcohol.

2 months ago | riograndesun.com | Trip Jennings

A week and a half ago life was moving fast as the New Mexico Legislature was wrapping up its 60-day legislative session and news out of Washington detailed new ways Donald Trump wants to permanently alter the role of the federal government in Americans’ lives. A part of my job is paying attention to local, state, and national news. And that means surfing a tsunami of stories many days that can make it feel as if I am all living at a million miles an hour.

Mar 20, 2025 | riograndesun.com | Trip Jennings

I’m writing this column between strolls through the Roundhouse on Monday afternoon. You see splatters of green everywhere. The Irish are everywhere on St. Patrick’s Day, it seems. It is the last week of the 60-day legislative session in Santa Fe and I like to stroll because the walls talk to you if you’ve covered a statehouse long enough. Obviously, the walls don’t literally talk.

Mar 18, 2025 | organmountainnews.com | Marjorie Childress |Trip Jennings

Marjorie Childress, New Mexico In DepthThis article was originally published by New Mexico In Depth. A bill meant primarily to close loopholes in New Mexico’s law governing the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures crashed and burned in the House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs committee on Friday. “The bill is dead,” Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said late Friday afternoon.

Mar 7, 2025 | riograndesun.com | Trip Jennings

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told business leaders last week state lawmakers will need to return to Santa Fe this fall for a special session to fill holes to New Mexico’s proposed $10.6 billion spending plan created by federal spending cuts. There are too many unknowns to say with certainty how the state might fare with a cost-cutting Trump administration dreaming of a smaller federal workforce and pared-back programs for the needy and vulnerable.