A $10.8 billion spending plan is headed to the House floor after bipartisan committee vote

SANTA FE — A $10.8 billion spending plan that would boost starting New Mexico teacher pay to $55,000 per year and provide average 4% pay raises for state employees is headed to the House floor.

The House Appropriations and Finance Committee unveiled the budget bill Friday, and then passed it on a 16-1 vote. Rep. Randall Pettigrew, a Lovington Republican, cast the lone opposing vote.

The committee vote came after little debate and no open dissent, a stark contrast from the pitched partisan battles over spending playing out in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, the budget-writing committee’s chairman, said the spending plan would authorize key state investments in housing programs, public safety and education.

He also cited the fact that more than $3.3 billion would be left unspent in cash reserves, and could be tapped in the case of federal budget cuts to Medicaid or other programs.

“I think this is a strong, bipartisan budget focused on immediate impact,” Small told reporters Friday.

At least some of that impact could be felt in clean-up efforts, as Small cited a $50 million appropriation to remediate abandoned uranium mines around New Mexico as one of the budget bill’s key provisions.

Overall, the spending plan for the budget year that starts in July would boost recurring state spending by $595 million — or about 5.8% — over current levels.

More than 40% of the proposed overall state spending would be directed at K-12 public schools, including funding to raise starting teacher pay from $50,000 to $55,000 per year. Pay levels would also be increased for veteran teachers.

Targeted pay raises in excess of 4% would also be provided to State Police officers, as part of an ongoing attempt to boost the ranks of the law enforcement agency.

State spending has increased steadily in recent years, as revenue levels have surged to record-high levels due largely to an oil production boom 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.

In its current form, the budget bill does not include a funding infusion for a proposed behavioral health trust fund to help pay for mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

But money for the new fund could be added to the spending bill in the Senate after it’s approved by the House, a legislative budget official said.

Legislation creating the new trust fund, Senate Bill 1, was approved later Friday by the House on a 46-19 vote.

All the votes against the bill came from Republicans.

“This is a bill that’s needed. I wish it had a few more guardrails and I wish we had a little more savings to put into this,” said Rep. Mark Duncan of Kirtland, who was one of the Republicans who tried unsuccessfully to change the bill and voted against its passage.