Thousands of capital-improvement projects, from school playgrounds to water-system upgrades, would be scrapped under a proposal by a group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

The legislation could provide nearly $150 million to help replenish New Mexico's cash reserves, which have been drained because of recent budget problems.

The measure will run into strong opposition because projects would be canceled in communities across New Mexico and in the home districts of legislators.

"It's sort of a poison pill for a lot of members on both sides of the aisle," one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said Tuesday.

On the chopping block are projects that haven't moved forward, in some instances for years, because not enough money initially was approved to complete all necessary work. In addition, the legislation will pull back leftover money from some projects that have been finished.

Gov. Bill Richardson's administration helped in assembling the list of projects, but the governor continues to negotiate with legislators on which ones should be canceled, said Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Richardson.

If the Legislature doesn't free up money by eliminating capital projects, lawmakers could be forced to cut spending or raid other funds to improve the state's finances, said Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, who also is sponsoring the capital-cutting legislation in the Senate.

"We're trading pork for human services and public services," said Cisneros. "We all have concerns because it impacts each and every one of our respective districts."

The bill (SB 182) eliminates money for more than 2,000 projects financed out of the state's main budget account and with bond proceeds.

Among the Santa Fe County projects being proposed for the chopping block is the long-defunct plan for a Santa Fe Opera rehearsal hall. In recent years, the Legislature appropriated more than $1.3 million for that project. But last year, a measure that would have authorized a land transfer between the opera and the state failed to pass the Legislature. A spokeswoman for the opera said last year that the organization was no longer interested in a state-funded facility.

Another project included in the cuts is for the Santa Fe Rape Crisis & Trauma Center — about $820,000. A notation on a list of inactive projects compiled last year by the staff of the Legislative Finance Committee said, "City will not be moving ahead with original plans for the project."

Other threatened appropriations for projects include more than $1.2 million for Santa Cruz Dam/Reservoir improvements; $936,000 in water rights and sewer projects in the Agua Fría area; $454,000 for a Pojoaque Valley Community Center; $400,00 for a multipurpose center in La Puebla ; about $300,000 for a Children's Zone building in Agua Fría; $287,000 for improvements at Oscar Huber Memorial Ballpark in Madrid; $250,000 for a pedestrian and bike bridge over the Santa Fe River at Camino Rael; and nearly $169,000 for improvements to the Santa Fe County fairgrounds.

Among other projects proposed to be eliminated: $1.8 million for domestic violence centers statewide; $1.2 million for clean energy and energy innovation projects statewide; nearly $588,000 for renovation and repairs to state buildings statewide; about $786,000 for renovation of health facilities statewide; $431,000 for improvements to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History; $850,000 for the Cibola County Hospital medical office building; about $537,600 for an addition to a Las Cruces labor office; $452,200 for a domestic violence shelter in Gallup; $314,000 for a regional animal shelter in Farmington; $1.7 million for work on the San Juan River to help endangered fish; and $280,000 for water-system improvements in Las Vegas.

Steve Terrell of The New Mexican contributed to this story.




© Copyright Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.