Trump's big bill is prompting urgent action in some Democratic states, but not in Republican ones - By David A. Lieb, Associated Press
New Mexico lawmakers are to open a special session Wednesday to boost funding for food assistance and rural health care 鈥� actions the Democratic governor contends are needed to "minimize the damage from President Trump's disastrous bill" cutting federal taxes and spending.
The special session follows one in Colorado, where the Democratic governor asserted Trump's tax cuts wreaked havoc on the state's budget. Oregon's Democratic officials also are wrestling with whether a special session is needed. And California Democrats recently passed new spending measures meant to counteract Trump's big bill.
Nothing like that is happening in Republican-led states.
The diverging responses highlight the partisan schism over Trump's signature legislative accomplishment of his second term and raise the question: Are Republican-led states ignoring the financial fallout, or are Democratic-led states overstating the urgency?
"Probably Democrats are doing a little bit for grandstanding," said Steven Rogers, an associate political science professor at Saint Louis University who focuses on state governments.
"On the Republican side, they may also just be OK with it 鈥� or they don't want to poke the Trump bear," Rogers said.
The sweeping new law, dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" by Republicans, is likely to affect some states more than others. Federal tax cuts could reduce revenues for states that link their own income taxes to the federal code, starting with 2025 tax returns.
Federal spending reductions on Medicaid and food benefits also could cause states to spend more of their own money on social safety net programs. But new Medicaid work requirements, which are among the most prominent changes, don't begin until 2027. Administrative cost shifts to states for food stamps begin in October 2026, with additional performance-based cost shifts in subsequent years.
New Mexico officials are taking 'proactive' steps
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called upon New Mexico lawmakers to preemptively earmark more money this fiscal year toward food assistance and rural health care.
Lawmakers also are looking to expand state subsidies for health insurance policies bought through the Affordable Care Act exchange, which covers about 75,000 residents. They point to the potential for enhanced federal subsidies to expire at the end of this year.
"We're not going to sit idly and watch that disaster happen," said Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth.
Though New Mexico expects to lose about $200 million annually because of new federal tax cuts, starting this fiscal year, it still has a large surplus thanks to booming oil production.
"We're in a position fiscally to be able to be proactive," Wirth said, "and really try and hold New Mexicans as harmless as we can to these cuts that are coming."
California boosts spending for food programs
Legislation recently signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom provides $255 million for California's response to Trump's big bill and other federal policy changes. That includes $84 million to try to reduce errors in benefit payments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Those food benefits currently are fully covered by the federal government, but states with error rates greater than 6% could have to pay part of the cost starting in October 2027.
Trump's big bill also expands work requirements for adults participating SNAP, which is expected to force some people off the program in the coming months. The California legislation provides $40 million for counties to implement the new SNAP requirements and pumps $20 million into emergency food banks, a one-third increase over previously approved state funding.
"We have been as diligent, as strategic as we can to backfill as much of those dollars as we can," Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat, told The Associated Press.
The new spending comes as California budget officials warn of a looming multibillion-dollar deficit.
Colorado and Oregon cite tax cuts as a cause for action
Because their tax codes are closely linked to the federal one, most of the new federal tax breaks automatically apply to state income taxes in Colorado and Oregon.
In August, Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis became the first to call lawmakers into special session while citing Trump's bill. His administration said the federal tax cuts blew an estimated $783 million hole in the current state budget.
The Democratic-led Legislature filled part of that gap by eliminating some corporate tax breaks and authorizing the sale of state tax credits to raise revenue.
In Oregon, Democratic officials are weighing whether to decouple from some of Trump's tax changes to avoid losing hundreds of millions of state tax dollars. Such a move could allow the state to continue taxing tips and overtime wages.
"It is a very politically risky bill to pass, let alone have a special session again for ANOTHER tax vote," Democratic state Rep. Rob Nosse said in a recent newsletter. "But at the same time it will allow us to stave off some of the cuts coming to health care and to food stamps."
Republicans see no urgency from revenue losses
Like Colorado and Oregon, the Republican-led states of Iowa, Montana and North Dakota also use "federal taxable income" as the starting point for their state taxes and automatically incorporate federal tax changes. Yet officials there haven't raised major concerns.
Montana stands to lose an estimated $114 million annually as a result of the new tax cuts. But lawmakers likely can wait until their next regular session in 2027 to address any impacts, said Republican state Rep. Larry Brewster, chair of the Legislature's interim revenue committee.
"I think it's a concern, but I don't think it's an urgent problem for us," he said.
Leaders of the North Dakota Legislature, which isn't scheduled to meet until 2027, are discussing holding a session early next year, but not because of federal tax cuts. Rather, lawmakers would decide how to spend the state's share of $50 billion of rural health care grants included in Trump's big bill.
Iowa's conformity to the federal tax code could cost its general fund $437 million this fiscal year, according to the state revenue department. The state's finances also could suffer from Trump's trade war with China, a top export market for farmers. The state still has billions of dollars in reserves.
"We're in a good position to weather some of the ag and some of the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill," Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said, "but we also have to be mindful as we move forward."
Associated Press writers Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Tr芒n Nguy峄卬 in Sacramento, California; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon contributed.
Santa Fe County to consider another utility-scale solar battery project
Another solar energy facility is being proposed in Santa Fe County. The Santa Fe New Mexican鈥檚 Clara Bates reports the site of the proposed solar power array is in the southern part of the county, about halfway between Galisteo and Interstate 40.
The facility, which would include battery storage, is more than three times the size of the Rancho Viejo Solar project that has been approved by Santa Fe County Commissioners but is still not certain to be built.
San Francisco-based Linea Energy wants to build the facility just north of the unincorporated village of Stanley. The site is about 40 miles south of Santa Fe.
The New Mexican reports the development could provide electricity for about 93,000 homes annually. The power would be sold to Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state鈥檚 largest electric utility.
A Santa Fe County land use hearing officer could review the proposal as early as November, which would put the application on pace to go before the Planning Commission in January.
The New Mexican also reports that some opponents of the Rancho Viejo project are in favor of this latest proposal. The Linea Energy project would generate more power and is located in a more remote area.
Mold, asbestos shutter village complex in remote Northern New Mexico community
In Sandoval County, the Village of Cuba Administrative Offices are closed indefinitely. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Cuba Mayor Denny Herrera announced the closure last Friday.
The reason for the closure - mold was discovered in restrooms, a kitchen in the Cuba senior center and in a storage closet. The restrooms were also found to have a trace amount of asbestos.
The closures include the municipal court, the motor vehicle department, the senior center, and the water and sewer department.
Village of Cuba staff told the New Mexican the village clerk and water department are moving into the Cuba Public Library for the time being. The library will be open to the public, but closed for library services during the closures.
As of this report, Cuba officials are still figuring out where the motor vehicle department and the municipal court will be conducting business. The Cuba Senior Center will be moving operations to the county fairgrounds.
Heinrich stresses impact lost health insurance tax credits could have on New Mexico
As a possible federal government shutdown looms, so does the chance that thousands of New Mexicans will see significant increases to their health insurance premiums.
Source New Mexico's Leah Romero reports federal health insurance tax credits have become a sticking point in negotiations over a spending bill Congress needs to pass to avoid a government shut-down this week.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) spoke in Las Cruces Friday alongside representatives of BeWell, the state鈥檚 health insurance marketplace; La Clinica de Familia, a private, federally qualified health center; and New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, a social justice advocacy organization.
Heinrich explained that if passed, the GOP-led government funding bill will mean the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits will expire at the end of the plan year, and people insured under the ACA will see their monthly insurance premiums increase between $300 and $500.
NM Center on Law and Poverty Policy Director Arika S谩nchez explained that the state has made significant progress in reducing the number of uninsured residents over the last decade 鈥� from 22% in 2013 to 12% in 2023.
She added that six to eight hospitals will be at risk for closing their doors within the next two years, if assistance is discontinued.
The New Mexico Legislature is slated to convene for a special session beginning this week, where health care coverage is included in the agenda. Fernandez said BeWell will be asking for additional funds to support people in paying their increased premiums.
Private equity sees profits in power utilities as electric bills rise and Big Tech seeks more energy - By Marc Levy, Associated Press
Private investment firms that are helping finance America's artificial intelligence race and the huge buildout of energy-hungry data centers are getting interested in the local utilities that deliver electricity to regular customers 鈥� and the servers that power AI.
Billions of dollars from such firms are now flowing toward electric utilities in places including New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota that deliver power to more than 150 million customers across millions of miles of power lines.
"The reason is very simple: because there's a lot of money to be made," said Greg Brown, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of finance who researches private equity and hedge funds.
Private investment firms that have done well investing in infrastructure over the last 15 years now have strong incentives to add data centers, power plants and the services that support them at a time of rapid expansion and spiking demand ignited by the late 2022 debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Brown said.
BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink said as much in a July interview on CNBC, saying infrastructure is "at the beginning of a golden age."
"We believe that there's a need for trillions of dollars investing in infrastructure related to our power grids, AI, the whole digitization of the economy" and energy, Fink said.
Deals are in the works
In recent weeks, private equity firm Blackstone has sought regulatory approval to buy out a pair of utilities, Albuquerque-based Public Service Company of New Mexico and Lewisville, Texas-based Texas New Mexico Power Co.
Wisconsin earlier this year granted the buyout of the parent of Superior Water, Light and Power and the owner of Northern Indiana Public Service Co. last year sold a 19.9% stake in the utility to Blackstone.
However, a fight has erupted in Minnesota over the buyout of the parent of Duluth-based Minnesota Power and the outcome could determine how such firms expand their holdings in an industry that's a nexus between regular people, gargantuan data centers and the power sources they share.
Under the proposed deal, a BlackRock subsidiary and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board would buy out the publicly traded Allete, parent of Minnesota Power, which provides power to 150,000 customers and owns a variety of power sources, including coal, gas, wind and solar.
Both sides of the fight have attracted influential players ahead of a possible Oct. 3 vote by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Raising the stakes is the potential that Google could build a data center there, a lucrative prospect for whoever owns Minnesota Power.
Opponents of the acquisition suspect that BlackRock is only interested in squeezing bigger profits from regular ratepayers. Allete makes the opposite argument, that BlackRock can show more patience because it is free of the short-term burdens of publicly traded companies.
More buyouts worry opponents
Opponents also worry that a successful Minnesota Power buyout will launch more such deals around the U.S. and drive up electric bills for homes.
"It's no secret that private equity is extremely aggressive in chasing profits, and when it comes to utilities, the profit motive lands squarely on the backs of ratepayers who don't have a choice of who they buy their electricity from," said Karlee Weinmann of the Energy and Policy Institute, which pushes utilities to keep rates low and use renewable energy sources.
The buyout proposals come at a time when electricity bills are rising fast across the U.S., and growing evidence suggests that the bills of some regular Americans are rising to subsidize the rapid buildout of power plants and power lines to supply the gargantuan energy needs of Big Tech's data centers.
Mark Ellis, a former utility executive-turned-consumer advocate who gave expert testimony against the Minnesota Power buyout, said he's talked to private equity firms that want to get into the business of electric utilities.
"It's just a matter of what's the price and will the regulator approve it," Ellis said. "The challenge is they're not going to come up for sale very often."
That's because electric utilities are seen as valuable long-term investments that earn around 10% returns not on the electricity they deliver, but the upcharge that utility regulators allow on capital investments, like upgrading poles, wires and substations.
That gives utility owners the incentive to spend more so they can make more money, critics say.
Big players on both sides
The fight over Minnesota Power resembles some of the battles erupting around the U.S. where residents don't want a data center campus plunked down next to them.
Building trades unions and the administration of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who appointed or reappointed all five utility commissioners, are siding with Allete and BlackRock.
On the other side are the state attorney general's office and the industrial interests that buy two-thirds of Minnesota Power's electricity, including U.S. Steel and other owners of iron ore mines, Enbridge-run oil pipelines and pulp and paper mills.
In its petition, Allete told regulators that, under BlackRock's ownership, Minnesota Power's operations, strategy and values wouldn't change and that it doesn't expect the buyout price 鈥� $6.2 billion, including $67 a share for stockholders at a 19% premium 鈥� to affect electric rates.
In essence, Allete 鈥� which solicited bids for a buyout 鈥� argues that BlackRock's ownership will benefit the public because, under it, the utility will have an easier time raising the money it needs to comply with Minnesota's law requiring utilities to get 100% of their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040.
Allete has projected needing to spend $4.3 billion on transmission and clean energy projects over five years.
However, opponents say Allete's suggestion that it'll struggle to raise money is unfounded, and undercut by its own filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in which it says it is "well positioned" to meet its financing needs.
Skepticism from regulators
It hasn't been smooth sledding for BlackRock.
In July, an administrative law judge, Megan J. McKenzie, recommended that the commission reject the deal, saying that the evidence reveals the buyout group's "intent to do what private equity is expected to do 鈥� pursue profit in excess of public markets through company control."
In recent days, a utility commission staff analysis echoed McKenzie's concerns.
They suggested that private investors could simply load up Minnesota Power's parent with massive debts, borrow at a relatively low interest rate and turn a fat profit margin from the utility commission granting a generous rate of return.
"For the big investors in private equity, this is a win-win," the staff wrote. "For the ratepayers of the highly leveraged utility, this represents paying huge profits to the owners if the private equity 'wins' and dealing with a bankrupt utility provider if it loses 鈥� it is a lose-lose."
LANL Tritium venting complete, state environment officials say no concern for public exposure - Danielle Prokop,
Los Alamos National Laboratory and federal officials completed the depressurization of four containers that were potentially building up pressure, and released only a small amount of the radioactive gas tritium into the air, state environment officials said on Friday.
In 2016, LANL officials discovered the drums were building pressure, could potentially explode and, in a worst-case scenario, release tritium at a rate double the airborne radiation limit for the whole year.
Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, can be naturally occurring or a byproduct from nuclear research.
The EPA, emitting radiation that often cannot penetrate the skin, and is from inhalation, skin absorption or consumed in tritiated water 鈥� a replacement of one of the hydrogen molecules with tritium.
Instead, officials found the containers were fully sealed and intact, according to reports from the National Nuclear Security Administration to the New Mexico Environment Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which monitored the release. Depressurization was delayed several times by rain, and started on Sept. 16 and ended on Sept. 23.
鈥淔rom the data we collected, received and reviewed, we really just don鈥檛 have any belief that there was any concerns for public exposure to the tritium at levels above background in the area,鈥� Hazardous Waste Bureau Chief, John-David Nance told Source NM.
The NNSA reported total emissions to be around 0.005 millirems 鈥� much lower than radiation exposure of 3.7 millirems from a cross-country flight.
Anti-nuclear and indigenous groups for a lack of transparency around the plan to depressurize the containers and said their safety concerns were ignored.
The state required LANL to have a stricter 鈥渉ard stop limit鈥� as a nod to the concerns for exposure limits for children and pregnant women.
NMED posted daily updates on social media about the release, as Nance said the state wasn鈥檛 鈥渆xactly satisfied with LANL鈥檚 communications,鈥� in the days leading up to the releases.
The NNSA and laboratory are required by state officials to issue a report about the depressurization and hold a meeting within the 30 days as part of the requirements from the state.
Nance said additional samples collected off-site by the New Mexico Environment Department will be released to the public in three to five weeks, after being verified.
鈥淩ecorded emissions we have were very low, but we're working to verify that with a third-party,鈥� Nance said.
Journal Poll: Tim Keller holds lead in Albuquerque mayoral race but many voters still undecided - Dan Boyd,
With early voting set to begin in just over a week, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller has a solid lead in his bid for an unprecedented third straight term, a new Journal Poll found.
The survey of proven and likely voters also found former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White leading a pack of six challengers, potentially positioning himself for a run-off election against Keller.
However, more than one-third of voters surveyed said they still had not decided who they would vote for, which could give hope to Keller鈥檚 challengers in the run-up to the Nov. 4 local election.
鈥淥n the one hand, Tim Keller has a comfortable lead in a seven-way race,鈥� said Brian Sanderoff, the president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc., which conducted the poll. 鈥淥n the other hand, he鈥檚 a two-term mayor and there are still more voters who are undecided than there are voters who are planning to vote for him.鈥�
In all, 29% of voters surveyed said they planned to vote for Keller, while 16% said they would vote for White. Trailing further back, Albuquerque city councilor Louie Sanchez and former U.S. attorney for New Mexico Alex Uballez both received support from 6% of voters surveyed.
The three remaining candidates 鈥� Eddie Varela, Mayling Armijo and Daniel Chavez 鈥� all had smaller support levels.
Keller, a former state senator and state auditor, has served as Albuquerque鈥檚 mayor since December 2017. He easily won reelection in 2021 and is seeking to be the first person to serve three consecutive terms as mayor.
But Keller has faced a steady stream of criticism from his opponents, specifically on the issues of homelessness and crime.
The mayor鈥檚 administration has touted a drop in violent crime rates over the last several years, but his police chief, Harold Medina, asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in March to to Albuquerque to assist local law enforcement officers.
The governor granted the request, while declaring an emergency in the state鈥檚 largest city.
In his in August, Keller acknowledged the challenges posed by crime, homelessness, rising housing costs and guns in schools.
鈥淚f there were easy solutions to these long-term problems, I promise you, I would have fixed them in a heartbeat,鈥� Keller said at the time, while insisting his administration was making progress on the issues.
Under Albuquerque鈥檚 city charter, the two top finishers in mayoral and City Council elections face off in a run-off election if the top finisher does not receive 50% or more of the votes cast. If it鈥檚 necessary, this year鈥檚 run-off election would take place Dec. 9.
Undecided voters could tip election
While some Albuquerque voters might be wary of another term for Keller, they haven鈥檛 necessarily flocked to other candidates.
White, who previously served as Albuquerque鈥檚 chief public safety officer and was a GOP congressional candidate, might also be having a hard time convincing some voters despite his second-place finish in the survey.
Despite being the best-known Republican in the race, White has struggled to consolidate the GOP vote in this year鈥檚 election, as only 38% of registered Republican voters surveyed said they planned to vote for White.
That could be due in part to White鈥檚 past ties to New Mexico鈥檚 cannabis industry 鈥� he sold his medical cannabis business four years ago 鈥� and the presence in the race of Sanchez, a conservative Democrat who received 12% of Republican support in the poll as he also appealed to voters concerned about crime, Sanderoff said.
Uballez, who has positioned himself as a progressive alternative to Keller, received more support from younger voters than did White. But Uballez鈥檚 support withered among voters age 50 and older, who tend to be more reliable voters.
Meanwhile, Sanderoff also said the fact that Keller was the for public campaign financing in this year鈥檚 race could also be a significant factor.
Buoyed by the more than $733,000 in public campaign funds he received after qualifying, Keller has maintained a during this year鈥檚 election cycle.
The failure of other mayoral candidates to meet the qualifications for public campaign financing has made it harder for them to make their case to voters, Sanderoff said.
鈥淭he candidates who are not as well known lost the opportunity to spend money in August and September to increase their name recognition,鈥� he said.
In all, the Journal Poll found 37% of voters were undecided or did not know who they planned to vote for.
When those undecided voters were asked which candidate they were leaning toward, most still said they were not sure. But with those who did express a 鈥渓ean鈥� factored in, Keller鈥檚 support in the survey rose to 35%, with White鈥檚 support at roughly 19%.
Early voting begins Oct. 7 at the Bernalillo County Clerk鈥檚 Annex only, with additional early voting sites opening Oct. 18.
Methodology
The Journal Poll is based on a random sample of 514 voters who cast ballots in the 2021 and/or 2023 local government election, and a sample of adults who registered to vote since January 2024 and who said they are likely to vote in the upcoming local government election.
To ensure a representative sample, Research & Polling Inc. sets quotas for race, gender and age, and weights by education level and party affiliation, if necessary, based on traditional voting patterns in local government elections.
The poll was conducted Sept. 19 through Sept. 26. The voter sample size of 514 has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The margin of error grows for subsamples.
All interviews were conducted by live, professional interviewers, based in Albuquerque, with multiple callbacks to individuals that did not initially answer the phone.
Both cellphone numbers (96%) and landlines (4%) of likely voters were used.
Mayoral candidate charged with inappropriately touching former campaign staffer Olivier Uyttebrouck,
Albuquerque mayoral candidate Daniel Chavez faces a charge of misdemeanor battery for allegedly inappropriately touching a campaign staffer, according to court records discovered this week, a month and a half before the election.
The alleged battery occurred after a June 19 campaign-related meeting, court records revealed.
A week later, Chavez allegedly asked the staffer to sign a nondisclosure agreement, according to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. The staff member refused to sign the NDA and was terminated the following day on June 27, the complaint said.
Chavez, 55, the president of Parking Company of America, did not immediately respond to messages left on the company鈥檚 voicemail or to an email sent to his campaign. His attorney, Carter Harrison, declined to comment on the case.
Chavez is one of six mayoral hopefuls challenging Mayor Tim Keller in the Nov. 4 municipal election. It is unclear how the misdemeanor charge will impact Chavez鈥檚 campaign.
Chavez pleaded not guilty Aug. 18 to the petty misdemeanor charge and was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled for a bench trial on Oct. 14 before Metropolitan Court Judge Renee Torres.
According to the criminal complaint, the incident occurred after Chavez attended a June 19 board meeting with the New Mexico Restaurant Association in Albuquerque.
The former staff worker told police that as they exited the meeting and were walking down a hallway with Chavez, he 鈥済rabbed and patted their buttocks twice without consent.鈥� The reporting officer from the Albuquerque Police Department described the alleged victim as nonbinary, using the pronouns they and them throughout the complaint.
Carol Wight, CEO of the restaurant association, told police she was present during the time of the reported incident, but did not witness the alleged touching. Wight added there were no surveillance cameras in the hallway where the touching allegedly occurred.
The alleged victim described the contact to police as 鈥渦nwelcome and nonconsensual.鈥� The former staff worker told police they later confronted Chavez, who responded that he thought the staff worker 鈥渨as his wife and apologized for the incident.鈥�
Chavez had secured the staffer an apartment and was their primary source of income, the complaint said, which added the former staff worker said they were in a committed relationship with a partner.