The state’s increased spending has come as revenue collections have exploded to record-high levels.Revised estimates released this week predicted legislators will have $892.3 million in “new” money available next year — a figure that represents the difference between projected revenue and current total spending levels. The budget surplus is part of a multi-year revenue bonanza, fueled primarily by record-high oil and natural gas productions in southeast New Mexico’s Permian Basin.
ABQ Journal (SANTA FE | Dec. 12, 2024) – Big spending infusions for New Mexico road construction, homelessness, child care and the state’s water long-term supply would be authorized under a $10.9 billion spending plan Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office rolled out Thursday. The budget proposal would boost overall state spending by about $720 million — or 7% — over current levels and would also provide pay raises for state employees and public school workers.
Top Lujan Grisham administration officials described the budget plan as prudent, even though recurring state spending has increased by 45% since the governor took office in 2019.
“I do think it’s sustainable,” Finance and Administration Secretary Wayne Propst said Thursday.
While the governor’s budget plan typically is not unveiled until January, just before the start of the legislative session, he said the decision was made to release it earlier this year.
“We feel that in the interest of transparency and to give time for public input … there’s no reason to wait until a week before the session,” Propst said.
The budget plan released Thursday does not call specifically for tax cuts or rebates, though top Governor’s Office aides said those proposals could be considered during the upcoming 60-day legislative session. The state has issued several rounds of tax rebates in recent years amid an ongoing revenue boom, including $500 per taxpayer rebates that were sent out in the summer of 2023.
But Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, the chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, said during budget hearings this week the past rebates were “pretty much a waste of money.” He said the state could have better put the money to use by funneling into trust funds to be invested for future use.
The state’s increased spending has come as revenue collections have exploded to record-high levels.Revised estimates released this week predicted legislators will have $892.3 million in “new” money available next year — a figure that represents the difference between projected revenue and current total spending levels. The budget surplus is part of a multi-year revenue bonanza, fueled primarily by record-high oil and natural gas productions in southeast New Mexico’s Permian Basin. The state is the second-largest oil producer in the nation — behind only Texas — and oil and gas revenue make up about 35% of the state’s total revenue collections, according to legislative data.
While state spending has increased, lawmakers have also set aside millions of dollars from the revenue windfall in trust funds. The money in those funds is then invested for future use. An early childhood trust fund established with a $300 million appropriation in 2020, for instance, has ballooned to a projected $9.6 billion balance in the current fiscal year.
The governor’s spending plan would allocate more money to several existing funds, including $50 million for a rural hospital fund and $110 million for a matching fund that provides money for state agencies, cities, counties and tribal governments to leverage against federal dollars. It also calls for $100 million to be spent on expanded behavior health care programs, which could include new mental health and substance abuse facilities. That money could be set aside in a new trust fund, or spent directly.
Governor’s Budget Reaches $10.9 Billion; 7% Increase
