The Wall Street Journal ran an article on January 19, 2009, outlining several allegations of state corruption in New Mexico and pointing to the state's lack of comprehensive ethics laws as a possible cause. On January 29, The Wall Street Journal published a letter by Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing, suggesting that government transparency would improve New Mexico's political situation. Gessing pointed out that the legislature had failed to follow through with any of the proposed ethics reforms of recent years. He suggested that the legislature begin Webcasting its sessions to give citizens the opportunity to monitor their government's actions. The New Mexico Watchdog was initially funded by the Rio Grande Foundation, and subsequently became affiliated with the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.
Cabinet expansion
In 2009, the Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing criticized the creation of a Department of Motor Vehicles and Hispanic Affairs Department in New Mexico, an idea proposed in two bills introduced in the New Mexico legislature. In an interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican, Gessing said, "the last thing we need is to hire more highly-paid cabinet-level state bureaucrats."
The Rio Grande Foundation "made a big splash" in its fight against a streetcar project in Albuquerque; several members of the group spoke in opposition to the streetcar at the City Council, and the Foundation supported an anti-streecar group called Stop Wasting Albuquerque Taxes.
Rail Runner
The foundation has been consistently opposed to the New Mexico Rail Runner Express on fiscal grounds. Transportation policy expert and frequent critic of light railRandal O'Toole spoke on the subject of public transit at a 2010 event sponsored by the Rio Grande Foundation. In a 2011 report, the Foundation noted that early projected costs were far below its actual costs and suggesting that the subsidies it receives could produce many more passenger-miles if spent on other transportation projects; for these and other reasons including low daily ridership, the report advocated the termination of the Rail Runner line.
Eminent domain
The Foundation opposes eminent domain, and in 2006, Rio Grande Foundation President Paul Gessing wrote an op-ed published in the Albuquerque Journal that criticized Governor Bill Richardson for vetoing a bill to restrict the use of eminent domain.
Education
The Rio Grande Foundation advocates school choice. The Foundation has written frequently about perceived shortcomings in New Mexico's Lottery Scholarship Program. The Foundation published report in 2012 and 2013 on the transparency and executive compensation at New Mexico's institutes of higher education.
Film subsidies
The Rio Grande Foundation has been critical of New Mexico's film tax credit program. Gessing argues that despite the visible gains of the policy, it places a greater tax burden on the rest of the state's taxpayers and it not a net gain. It co-hosted a debate with the Motion Picture Association of New Mexico on January 1, 2011, and was critical of a 2009 report rating the subsidy policy favorably. Before the 2011 New Mexico Legislative Session the Foundation proposed a cap of $30 million on the industry credit; the credit was ultimately capped at $50 million.
Freedom Index
The Rio Grande Foundation’s website hosts its Freedom Index, a legislative tracking tool that allows visitors to see the Foundation’s numerical ratings and written analyses of selected bills in the New Mexico Legislature. Legislators are not scored directly but receive scores based on their votes on bills that have been rated. The Freedom Index began in 2013.
