By MAYA HILTY
The Santa Fe New Mexican
“Keep your boots on the ground,” state Rep. Nathan Small, chairman of the powerful House Appropriations and Finance Committee, told lawmakers on the House floor Wednesday as they prepared to approve a record state budget of about $10.1 billion.
The proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2025 has an increase of $621 million, or 6.5%, over the current fiscal year and about $1.3 billion in one-time spending.
New Mexico’s budget should continue to climb amid “near record” revenues, said Small, a Las Cruces Democrat.
The budget bill, which passed the House on a vote of 53-16 after three hours of debate, would set aside about $1.2 billion in endowments and expendable trusts for future spending. Such savings will insulate the state from what’s expected to be slower growth in oil and gas revenue, which is now on track to add $3.5 billion in “new revenue” for fiscal year 2025, Small said.
The spending proposal, which still must clear Senate committees and a Senate floor vote, would leave general fund reserves at a “strong” 32% of recurring spending, he added.
Some House Republicans raised objections that the bill proposes only $200 million in tax cuts. The governor proposed a $500 million tax package in early January.
House Minority Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, unsuccessfully pushed for $600 million in tax cuts Wednesday.
“We’re focused on growing the economy, not growing government,” Lane said. The proposed bill might increase spending so much that the state will have to pull back on programs in “lean years,” he added.
Small said the Legislature has increased spending 12% to 14% in recent years and called the proposed 6.5% increase the “lowest in the last few years.”
Some Republicans also criticized the bill’s $150 million appropriation to the Department of Transportation for major infrastructure projects, arguing the state needs to invest much more in road improvements.
“Quite frankly, $150 million is a pittance of what the highway department badly needs,” Rep. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia said.
To the surprise of many lawmakers, the House passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, to prohibit the Public Education Department from using appropriated funds to implement a rule establishing a minimum requirement of 180 instructional days per school year. The measure passed on a vote of 42-26.
The Public Education Department proposed the rule change late last year, which has prompted opposition from many lawmakers, school administrators, teachers and parents, especially those from rural districts.
In a Wednesday morning news conference, House Democrats touted that the proposed budget would grow investments in health care, education, public safety, housing and the environment, and several called the investments historic.
The bill would increase funding for the Early Childhood Education and Care Department by $19.6 million, or 6%, to expand prekindergarten and child care programs, among other initiatives.
It also would increase funding for the Department of Health by 6.3%, or $11.7 million, and appropriate $1.96 billion to the new state Health Care Authority to expand public health programs, senior services and rate increases for providers.
Medicaid spending would grow by $180 million, or about 11%, Rep. Pamelya Herndon, D-Albuquerque, highlighted in a news conference.
The bill includes a 6.1% increase in funding for public schools for a total of $4.43 billion — slightly under the governor’s recommended budget of $4.46 billion.
It also funds 2% across-the-board pay increases for state government and school employees, and provides additional money for agencies to use at their own discretion to offer salary increases averaging 2% more.
“We’re at a unique moment in our state’s history where we can be less fearful … of that roller coaster of up and down [revenues] and more focused on getting the very best bang for each buck and improving the lives of New Mexicans,” Small said.
