legislature
Understanding spending and its growth under Gov. MLG
A policy blogger named Maria Davidson recently started posting a series of charts contrasting the growth in state spending vs the growth in the same state’s population over the past decade (one for California is linked). I…
Empire Center Breaks Down Albany’s Pork Barrel Spending
Albany legislators steered over $83 million in grants to 293 local projects between April and December 2025 , according to data the Empire Center recently received under a Freedom of Information Law request. The governor and…
Opinion piece: Curley effect is keeping N.M. stagnant
The following appeared on April 5, 2026 in the Santa Fe New Mexican. The article also appeared in papers across New Mexico. I recently came across a concept called the Curley Effect. It has nothing to do with Larry and Moe.…
Opinion piece: RGF opinion piece: Medical malpractice success a win, but more needed
The following appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on March 2nd, 2026 and in other newspapers across New Mexico. The passage of medical malpractice reform is the most important public policy success in New Mexico in more than…
RGF Freedom Index Results Finalized
As we have done for more than a decade, the Rio Grande Foundation has tracked the votes in New Mexico’s legislative sessions. The 2026 session was a short, 30-day legislative session, but some momentous bills passed (for…
RGF talks to KOAT TV about roads
SB 2 has passed which means that the road issue has been “put to bed” for the time being. The bill which has been signed by the Gov. includes: $1.5 billion in new road spending via a bond (debt) package. This also includes: A…
RGF opinion piece: Data centers are coming: How to handle them
The following appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican on January 10, 2026. It has appeared in several other publications as well. After years of failure to land a “big fish” business for New Mexico’s economy (or effectively…
ABQ Journal opinion piece: More investigative journalism is a must
The following appeared in Albuquerque Journal on January 11, 2026. The Albuquerque Journal recently made appeals on its pages for donations to increase investigative journalism efforts. Even though the Rio Grande Foundation…
RGF president discusses massive cost of MLG’s “free” childcare plans on KOAT 7
RGF has raised concerns about the impact of the Gov’s plans to expand “free” child care to those New Mexico families who make MORE THAN 400% of the federal poverty level (about $128,000 for a family of four). Is the program…
OPINION: New Mexico’s economic freedom is now dead last
The following appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on December 7, 2025. In a study published earlier this year, we highlighted the fact that New Mexico was the only state in the U.S. to have lost economic freedom since 1981.…
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