STATE OF THE STATE: JOHNSON LAUNCHES LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Gov. Gary Johnson said Tuesday he will push for a constitutional amendment
to expand the power of the New Mexico governor by making the state attorney
general and secretary of state appointees of the governor.

The positions now are filled by voters in statewide elections under the
state's plural executive, a divided-power scheme that has led to
"stagnation and political infighting that stops all progress," Johnson said.

The proposal gave an element of surprise Tuesday to Johnson's annual State
of the State address, which otherwise focused mostly on reruns of the
Republican governor's perennial initiatives, including tax cuts and school
vouchers.

It was 20 minutes into the 27-minute speech before Johnson mentioned drugs,
the policy issue for which he has received the most publicity in the past
year. Johnson is pushing a package of bills that emphasize treatment
instead of incarceration for drug-related crimes.

"Adopt our eight drug-reform bills and I guarantee that prison rates will
drop, violent crime will decrease, property crime will decrease, overdose
deaths will decrease, AIDS and Hepatitis C will decrease and more of those
needing treatment for drug abuse will receive treatment," Johnson said.

"In a nutshell, New Mexico has a chance to lead the nation in drug policy
reform that will reduce the overall harmful effects of drugs."

Yet Johnson made clear his priority is cutting state income taxes. He is
pushing a $75 million tax cut that would drop top tax rates to 7.7 percent
(from 8.2 percent today) in an effort to spur economic development.

Twice during the speech, Johnson urged lawmakers to "put all of our
efforts" toward reducing income taxes. His tax talk was interrupted three
times by applause.

Johnson said he would also fight for school vouchers, merit-based pay for
teachers, easier establishment of new charter schools and a proposal to
make the state superintendent of schools a cabinet position appointed by
the governor.

"Governor Johnson is once again making proposals that have little real
support for public education," said Mary Lou Cameron, president of the
state's National Education Association chapter, in a prepared statement.

"Voucher proposals provide inadequate support to the schools that need the
most help," Cameron said. "It's like taking food away from the dinner table
and then becoming angry when the diners leave the meal hungry."

Johnson urged wise use of an expected budget windfall, which has been
driven by skyrocketing prices for oil and natural gas.

"Let's address our critical capital needs for education instead of
squandering it," Johnson said. "In fact, let's prioritize all capital
spending. Let this session be the end of 'political pork' and the beginning
of a reasoned capital appropriation spending plan."

Johnson elaborated later on the subject. He said he has reached agreement
with some key lawmakers in the House to prioritize school-construction
projects with available bricks-and-mortar spending.

Johnson also said he would support a bill to establish a commission to
study and prioritize capital-outlay requests between legislative sessions.
Historically, lawmakers divide up the money for pet projects in individual
legislators' districts and appropriations are decided behind closed doors.

Asked about his proposal to abolish elections for several state executive
positions, Johnson said he believed consolidation would save money and
increase efficiency.

"Because it's political, it becomes its own fiefdom," Johnson said of such
elected offices as state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general and
secretary of state. "And because it's a fiefdom, it costs more and it isn't
as efficient as it might be if it were appointed."

Johnson said he would propose the attorney general and secretary of state
become cabinet secretaries appointed by the governor, while the treasurer
and auditor positions would be abolished.

"It's our belief, for example," he said, "that the state treasurer's office
could probably be adequately run through the Department of Finance and
Administration with maybe a staff of about four to six, versus the current
staff of 22."

Johnson said his proposal, which would need voter approval, could be on the
ballot in 2002 but would not take effect until 2007. Johnson leaves office
at the end of next year and has said he does not have further political
ambitions.

Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Attorney General Patricia
Madrid, both Democrats, took credit Tuesday for Johnson's proposal to
abolish their independent offices.

"It was about me," said Vigil-Giron, who said the proposal came because of
a clash between her and Johnson during recent meetings of the state
Canvassing Board.

"I didn't do what he wanted and he couldn't control me," she said. "This
was more of an attack than a recommendation."

Madrid said in a prepared statement she found Johnson's recommendation "a
tribute to the level of independence demonstrated by my office.

"If the office of the attorney general were an appointed one, the Indian
gaming lawsuit would not have been filed nor would there be calls for
delaying electric deregulation in New Mexico."

Johnson also discussed another area of dispute: school vouchers, which
Madrid has said would run contrary to the state Constitution.

Asked if an appointed attorney general would find vouchers legal, the
governor replied, "You bet. They would be siding with me in that argument
because there are attorneys that side with the other side of the argument.
But it's just butting heads. It's always butting heads."

Madrid suggested that's what the people want.

"New Mexicans want an independent attorney general that will stand up for
them," she said. "That is certainly what I will continue to do."

A spokeswoman with Madrid's office said only seven states and the District
of Columbia have appointed attorneys general, while the rest pick their top
law-enforcement official through popular elections.

Staff reporter Steve Terrell contributed to this report.