April 8, 1999

The Honorable Manny M. Aragon 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 605, enacted by the Forty-Fourth Legislature, First Session, 1999.

The current Public School Code provides for the transportation of students through school bus service contracts with owner-operators or fleet operators. Certain restrictions apply. Local school board approval is required and compliance with the Procurement Code is mandatory.

This legislation would sweep aside the competitive bidding process for student bus services by allowing an individual owner-operator to convert to a fleet operator.

This wholesale statutory carve-out from the Procurement Code and "any other provision of law to the contrary" may prove to be inequitable and inefficient as it tends to discourage competition for school bus transportation services.

Sincerely,

Gary E. Johnson

Governor