OPINION: State government funding: Winners and losers

This column is going to cover the process by which capital outlay money is brought back into local communities from the state coffers. Capital outlay money is utilized to purchase additions to road and sewer systems or new fire trucks, as examples. Basically, the funds are supposed to be used for infrastructure projects with life spans longer than the bonds that are normally sold to raise the money.

Traditionally, capital outlay money available during the fiscal year is allocated among the governor, Senate and House of Representatives in three equal shares. This division was disrupted during the 2023 legislative session when the tribal communities demanded $100 million dollars off the top before the balance was distributed according to the above formula. This happened because the tribal communities wield significant influence in the Legislature by virtue of leadership positions on key House and Senate committees.

It should be noted that tribal communities are all represented in the legislature by both House and Senate members. In fact, the recent redistricting gerrymander left these lands over represented. As an example, a state representative elected from a district on tribal or sovereign land may only speak for some 26,000 constituents instead of the ideal allocation of 29,000. During our most recent redistricting however, there was a systematic effort to elevate tribal voices above the voices of every other citizen of New Mexico. 

The capital outlay process begins with meetings ahead of each legislative session where the governmental entities within the district present to legislators their requests for the upcoming session. At this point, there is no concrete number for the funds available to fulfill the requests. It is safe to say, however, there is never enough. During the session, when actual numbers become available, legislators in each district form working groups to allocate funds to the various projects. At least in the southeast part of the state this is a coordinated effort to try to fully fund as many projects as possible. 

The $100 million preallocation resulted in each senator — in districts with no tribal lands — receiving a cut of $780,000 to his or her allocation. Similarly, each representative lost some $470,000. These reductions generated a vigorous and passionate floor debate with the sponsor of the legislation finally admitting that the $100 million dollars of "juice" going into the tribal communities could be justified as compensation for past injustices. Although the word reparations was not actually used during the debate, the objective was crystal clear. In this case it is compensation for the appropriation by the state and federal governments of land historically claimed by the various tribes, all the way back into the 1800s. An obvious question asked during the debate was if this sum under consideration would consider the bill "paid in full." The answer was ambiguous at best. 

The tribes consider themselves independent nations when it comes to enforcing contracts and state law on their lands. As a consequence, there is a limit to how much oversight is going into the vetting. There are seven pages of projects, 102 in total, that are being funded with the additional money. Admittedly, many, perhaps most, look perfectly legitimate from an infrastructure standpoint. There are suspicious notes however that not all the expenditures are for the benefit of the communities at large. One reads, “Chapter is still contacting people who want to have their bathroom renovated.” 

This process is patently unfair to folks who had nothing to do with the decisions and consequences of the conflicts prosecuted during the buildout of the United States. It is particularly galling to those of us today in the southeast as virtually all of the money available for distribution is the result of our labors in the oilfield. In my 10 years of participating in this process, I have yet to have sufficient funds to offer individuals "bathroom remodeling” money.

Larry Scott, R-Hobbs, represents District 42 in the New Mexico Senate.