One New Mexico legislator wants to get a handle on incomplete construction projects that state taxpayers have spent big bucks on.
A recent KOB Eyewitness News 4 investigation revealed how millions of taxpayer dollars were dumped into the Mora County Judicial Complex. The complex was never finished after funding dried up.
In another case, $500,000 of state taxpayer money was spent on the Watrous Community Center. Located about 20 miles north of Las Vegas, the center has remained vacant since its construction several years ago.
Those two examples are something State Senator Pete Campos (D-Las Vegas) is trying to stop. He's proposing that a capital outlay committee investigate projects before they're funded to make sure there's a need for them and they can be finished.
If taxpayer money is approved, the state would monitor construction progress.
The senator says, "We need to get a handle on where we're going with this, otherwise we're going to continue to deal with projects that are truly not completed that could be out of hand."
It is unknown exactly how many state funded projects are incomplete, so the senator wants cities and counties to make a list.
