April
5, 2001
SENATE EXECUTIVE MESSAGE NO. 61
The Honorable Richard Romero and
Members of the Senate
Executive-Legislative Building
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503
Honorable President and Members of the Senate:
I have this day VETOED and am returning SENATE BILL
432, as amended, without certificate of correction, enacted by the Forty-Fifth
Legislature, First Session, 2001.
This bill would create an office within the State Department of Education to administer the Medicaid in the Schools (MITS) program and establish a Medicaid in the Schools Advisory Counsel. The Human Services Department (HSD) currently administers the MITS program in New Mexico and obtains federal matching funds to support the program. This proposed change would fragment program administration and funding. It would create multiple layers of bureaucracy and require interagency cooperation without a clear primary agency with accountability. The Human Services Department is diligently working to make the MITS program in New Mexico a model worth duplicating nationwide. Splitting up the responsibilities and duties for this program would not create a more effective program, merely two agencies with only partial accountability. This is a worthwhile program that should not be jeopardized simply to provide a quick fix.
Sincerely,
Gary E. Johnson
Governor
RECEIVED FROM THE OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR:
Time: _____________________
By:_____________________________
Secretary of State
Date ______________________
Time:______________________
Date_______________________
By:_____________________________
Chief Clerk of the Senate
Sem61sb432v