SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s strategy for spending and investing a multibillion-dollar annual surplus linked closely to oil production came into sharper focus Saturday, as a legislative panel advanced an annual spending plan toward a Senate floor vote.
Legislators are tapping the brakes on recent double-digit budget increases in the nation’s No. 2 state for oil production behind Texas, while setting aside money in endowments and investment accounts to ensure funding for critical programs in the future — in case the world’s hunger for oil weakens.
Advancing on a 11-0 committee vote, the amended budget proposal would increase annual state general fund spending by roughly 6.8%, to $10.2 billion, for the fiscal year that runs from July 2024 through June 2025.
Proposed changes from the Senate add $32 million to the spending package, setting average public salary increases at 3% for state employees and staff at K-12 schools, state colleges and public universities.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has advocated for a more robust spending package, a 10% annual spending increase that would shore up housing opportunities, childhood literacy and health care access.