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SANTA FE — Gov. Bill Richardson has halted the appointment of former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron to lead the state's film museum pending a financial audit of her former department.

Richardson has told the Department of Finance and Administration to look into a $3 million shortfall left by Vigil-Giron after she was term-limited out of office last year.

"Governor Richardson wants to get to the bottom of the budget shortfall at the Secretary of State's Office," Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. "Until the governor is confident that there are legitimate reasons for that shortfall, he is putting the appointment to the Film Museum on hold."

Senate Republicans have called for Attorney General Gary King to investigate what they say is questionable spending.

Vigil-Giron said the shortfall is related to spending on last fall's election, which she said wasn't properly funded by the Legislature. And she said she welcomes the audit.

"Yes, please do the audit," she said. "It's OK to validate or exonerate the fact that I did everything I was supposed to do. ... I did not do anything I was not supposed to do."

Richardson said he wasn't aware the shortfall was that big.

"I was not aware of the size of the deficit," he said. "I was aware there was some expenses that hadn't been paid but when I learned that was $3 million, I think it's important we get all the facts and we make sure a proper audit is done."

The governor's announcement followed Sen. Shannon Robinson, an Albuquerque Democrat, yanking his sponsorship of an administration bill this week that would create the Media Arts and Entertainment Department, of which the film museum would be a part. Robinson was the only Senate sponsor.

House Republicans tried but failed to stop a similar bill in that chamber.

Even with his call for an audit, the governor defended Vigil-Giron.

He said she "has served the state, she's been an elected official, she's contributed to state government in New Mexico and I believe she deserves an opportunity to stay in state government."

When asked whether Vigil-Giron has a background in film, Richardson said: "This is a promotion job, this is a job where you are out promoting films and the museum. It's not a recruitment job, it's not a job that deals with issues relating to bringing films to the state, it's mainly a job that's a strong public relations job and she's good at that."

Vigil-Giron said she's a great administrator and that's what the job is about.

"It's a no-brainer," she said. "Being the director of a museum isn't about anything but being an administrator."