New Mexico governor signs state budget with some line-item vetoes
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SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – This year, lawmakers sent a record-breaking budget proposal to the governor’s desk. Now, she has given her signature of approval, with some adjustments.
“I have vetoed parts… that impermissibly attempt to create substantive law,” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a message to lawmakers. “I have vetoed provisions of the Act that attempt to enact general policy by imposing, for example, reporting or other requirements that do not exist in substantive law.”
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The governor also noted that she vetoed portions of the budget that “unduly” restricted spending to certain types of expenditures. She argued that those types of funding restrictions exceed the constitutionally defined role of the state legislature.
Even with the vetoes, the budget provides $10.21 billion in recurring spending for the state. That’s nearly a 7% increase compared to the previous year. The budget also keeps more than 32% of state revenue in reserve for future use.
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“The budget I signed today represents a strong investment in New Mexico’s future with funding to improve literacy, help keep New Mexicans safe, expand affordable housing, raise teacher pay, assist tribal governments and much more,” Lujan Grisham said in a press release. “I want to thank New Mexicans for their input during the budget process, as well as state lawmakers for sending this carefully considered bill to my desk.”
Some of the key funding includes:
Housing and Homelessness Reduction Initiatives:
$125 million to NMFA’s opportunity enterprise revolving fund
$50 million to the housing trust fund at NM Mortgage Finance Authority
$19.7 million for statewide homelessness initiatives
$10 million for transitional housing and shelter facilities for victims of domestic violence
$3.3 million to HCA: housing for those with opioid use disorders and serious mental illness
Beautification, and litter clean-up efforts for state and city parks:
$53 million for state and city parks
$15 million for Balloon Fiesta Park
$10 million for roadway beautification
$10 million for state buildings
$2 million for litter marketing campaign
Education
3% raise for all school personnel
$86 million for literacy initiatives across the state
$41 million for universal free school meals
$15 million for pay differentials to recruit and retain hard-to-staff special education positions
$6 million for special education initiatives
$5 million for attendance improvement interventions
$4 million for school turnaround pilot projects in Albuquerque public schools
Public Safety
$25 million for firefighter recruitment fund
$25 million for corrections and law enforcement recruitment
Infrastructure, Water, and Natural Resources:
$540 million in road improvements
$300 million for the conservation legacy permanent fund
$75 million for the new “match fund”
$50 million for the water projects fund
$25 million for broadband
$20 million to support and fund Indian water rights settlements
$10 million to the Climate Investment Center
$5 million for water right adjudication work
The governor also recently approved a list of capital outlay projects for the state. Other recently approved bills include a much-debated clean fuel bill.
