From the Santa Fe New Mexican - Diana Alba Soular For New Mexico In Depth - LAS CRUCES — Gov. Susana Martinez gave an enthusiastic speech in October to a yearly gathering of the “who’s who” in commercial spaceflight, touting the jobs Spaceport America could create and its potential to inspire young minds.“It is with great foresight that New Mexico has chosen to invest in the commercial space business,” she told the group. “And when I say New Mexico, I mean taxpayers have chosen to invest.”
Her eagerness seemed a far cry from the skepticism she showed soon after taking office in early 2011. The change of heart illustrates an ironic reality midway into Martinez’s four-year term. It`s not clear that Martinez would have supported the massive public investment required to build the spaceport had she been governor when the state and local communities pumped $209 million into the project. Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela wouldn’t say whether Martinez would have invested the money former Gov. Bill Richardson championed had she been in his place, saying he was “not willing to second-guess the prior administration’s decision.”
Because of the investment made while Richardson was governor, many spaceport supporters say, the project presents a real opportunity to create private-sector jobs — the kind Martinez likes best. But the spaceport’s future, and the possibility of private-sector jobs in a region desperately in need of them, appears tenuous, its fate hanging in part on proposed legislation state lawmakers will consider in the coming weeks. The bill would protect companies supplying parts to spaceships from being sued.
The Legislature has twice failed to pass the bill, even as some other states with competing spaceports have enacted similar protections. Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, thinks compromise is possible this year. “I would indicate today that it would be very likely, but all the stakeholders truly need to be brought to the table,” he said in late December.
While Martinez’s economic development plans are larger than Spaceport America — the spaceflight informed consent bill is one of seven measures she’ll promote in the upcoming session — the bill’s passage has the potential to boost Martinez’s economic development record, which some say is a mixed bag so far.
Martinez can count among her achievements a boom in international trade and a growing border-related industry in Santa Teresa. But the state is losing jobs, and other economic indicators show slower growth than nationally.
Spaceport supporters say the project has the potential to help grow a new aerospace economy and reduce reliance upon federal dollars. New Mexico ranked sixth in per-capita federal spending in fiscal year 2010, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. Though Martinez looks on the spaceport more favorably than she once did, she has been unwilling to pump more money into the project and has scaled back funding for its administering agency. Meanwhile, competing states have ramped up spending in the race to attract the commercial space industry and its jobs.
Those factors make the bill to cap legal liability for spaceflight parts manufacturers and company shareholders make-or-break for Spaceport America, supporters say. In recent weeks, the CEO of the spaceport’s major tenant, Virgin Galactic, bolstered those fears, saying the company would rethink its plans if the measure fails this year. The legislation has powerful opponents. The New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association has adamantly objected to the bill, saying it could undermine a long-held tenet protecting consumer safety.
Martinez has thrown her political weight behind the bill in the months leading up to the legislative session that begins next week. The proposal matches with her philosophy for creating a friendlier business climate in New Mexico. It’s perhaps Martinez’s best chance of supporting potential new jobs at the spaceport without spending more money on a project she likely initially saw as excessive. Read more
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