March 11, 1998

The Honorable Raymond G. Sanchez and

Members of the House of Representatives

Executive-Legislative Building

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503

Honorable Speaker and Members of the House:

I have this day VETOED and am returning HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL 302, with emergency clause passed by the Forty-Third Legislature, Second Session, 1998.

This legislation, very similar to HOUSE BILL 568 of the Forty-Third Legislature which I vetoed last year, addresses inmate meritorious deductions ("good time"); enacts the "Corrections Population Control Act" and establishes the Corrections Population Control Commission.

I believe that the public, the citizens of this state, have the impression that if a criminal is punished with a sentence to serve time in prison, that the criminal will be in prison for the entire length of their sentence. This should be the case and we should be doing everything in our power to make that perception a reality. We owe at least this much to the victims and their families. But the reality is that our state prisoners are eligible for good time which effectively cuts criminals’ sentences in half. I have been willing to tolerate this because I know that we do not have the prison space to hold the prisoners if we were to stop awarding good time.

This prison population control bill comes at a time when we are faced with a serious overcrowding problem in our correctional system. In my opinion this is a short-term and temporary solution. At best it is a band aid that does not provide long-term solution. The better solution to this problem is to utilize the two new prisons in Hobbs and Santa Rosa to adequately house the prisoners currently in our system. When these new facilities are operational we will be able to truly reduce good time administratively without being subject to the early release provisions of this bill.

I could not, in good conscience, face the victims and their families and tell them that I signed a bill that further reduced the prison sentence of the individual who is responsible for their families’ pain. Reducing prison sentences does not make New Mexico safe, rather it further erodes the integrity of our system of justice.

This bill also creates a Corrections Population Control Commission which would do a large portion of the Secretary of Corrections job. The Secretary is fully capable of running the department of corrections which includes dealing with population issues. This commission represents unnecessary duplication and micro-management of the executive branch of government.

Sincerely,

Gary E. Johnson

Governor

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