On Thursday, far-left Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham unveiled her FY25 executive budget recommendation, featuring a massive 9.9% increase in recurring spending, totaling $10.5 billion, calling out-of-control spending “historic – but prudent.”
The executive budget recommendation aims to spend away New Mexico’s record revenue, mainly from oil and gas production, while maintaining reserves at 34.2%. Many argue that such a substantial increase in spending may jeopardize the promised reserve levels, prompting questions about the state’s financial stability.
In the realm of water and natural resources, the budget proposes a $500 million capital appropriation for the Strategic Water Supply from severance tax bonds, a $250 million general fund transfer to the Land of Enchantment Conservation Fund, and $20 million for low-interest loans to communities for carbon emission reduction projects.
For housing and homelessness, the proposal includes $250 million for the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund, $250 million to the NM Finance Authority Opportunity Enterprise Revolving Fund for affordable housing, and $40 million for homelessness initiatives statewide.
Education funding sees allocations of $33 million for expanding universal socialist early pre-kindergarten, a $101.2 million increase to the State Equalization Guarantee Distribution, $58.1 million for structured literacy (including $30 million for a new Structured Literacy Institute), $43.5 million for school meals, and a three percent pay increase ($96 million) for all educators.
In the healthcare sector, the proposal includes $2.15 billion in recurring general funds for the Health Care Authority, $100 million for the Rural Healthcare Delivery Fund, $87.9 million for Medicaid provider rate increases, and $24.7 million to create a new Family Services division — more bureaucracy.
Public safety allocations comprise $35 million for corrections and law enforcement recruitment statewide, $5 million for the Governor’s Commission on Organized Crime, and $35 million for the Firefighter and EMT Recruitment Fund.
Economic Development & Infrastructure funding includes $100 million to launch the New Mexico Match Fund for federal funding leverage, $25 million for the Local Economic Development Act Program (LEDA), $9.7 million for the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP), $5 million for the New Mexico Media Academy, and $1.5 million special funding for the Economic Development Department’s international market reach.
The executive budget also includes a 3% compensation increase for state employees, a further bolstering of the state instead of cuts of unnecessary boards, agencies, divisions, and departments.
Power The Future’s Larry Behrens commented following the announcement, “With a massive amount of new money delivered from the state’s oil and natural gas workers, Governor Lujan Grisham has another opportunity to give some of that money to families through rebates. New Mexicans are paying 17 percent more for everything over the last three years and deserve to share in the state’s oil and gas revenue windfall. Unfortunately, Governor Lujan Grisham’s budget priority is to take the money and grow more bureaucracy in Santa Fe.”
Socialist MLG is spending other oriole’s money.
Yes, but adrenochrome has her looking younger.
This money came from oil and gas that she wants to eliminate. Go figure. Some of that money should go to road repair.
The only thing the Pinion Post is interested in is saving the oil and gas industry. It is the most heavily subsidized industry on the planet and is destroying our world and our environment but that doesn’t seem to matter to them.
Money spent on education and housing, and working to solve the homeless problem is a wise expenditure of resources. Wait… maybe we can slash education and social programs, have all kids home schooled and have everyone get a job in resource extraction?
We should slash social program spending and use that money to develop industry and business so the population can work.
Money spend on Ed. is valid only when kids are actually being taught. And at this point I don’t think any funding should go to colleges and universities as the no longer truly prep students for work success.
There isn’t an automatic relationship between cutting government spending and using the money to develop industry and if the state started working on developing industry like that all most of the people on the site would do with scream socialists even more. That is exactly what they are doing with subsidies to the movie producers. And they already providing tax breaks for new industries to move to New Mexico. Wake up and do your homework.
YES . . . . YES . . . . YES!!!
Oil and Gas are necessary for our country and New Mexico.
Do you own a car or two? Mmmmm.
Get real Dave. NM is very fortunate to have oil and gas revenue pretty much “subsidizing” our state budget.
I’m not even sure how to comment on such an ignorant statement….I guess I’ll just let it fall on it’s own merits.
You are just a useful idiot. The democrats rely on your ignorance. Solar fields are a blight on the earth as well as wind turbines that kill birds and the solar fields add additional extreme heat to the atmosphere. What is that going to do? Many many things are being implemented without the proper studies.
ONLY GOD DESTROY THE WORLD ALL YOU CRY BABIES OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO IS BLAME THE OTHER GUY AND KILL GOD’S CIHILDREN DID YOUR PARENTS HAVE ANY KIIDS THAT LIVED
That is NOT what is destroying our world! You only wish it were that simple. Removing God Almighty is the cause of all the mess.
Been drinking the socalist Kool aid?
The lefties destroyed the thriving steel town I grew up in and now they are targeting oil and gas. Before they were just misguided. Now they are subversives in addition to useful idiots.
In New Mexico, the subsidies go in reverse. To the socialist government.
MLG will be the most prolific Lame Duck Gov. NM has ever had. You will see exorbitant spending from her and her team. You will also see her push for laws that further restrict New Mexican’s rights.
MLG please go away… far far away. Ok I’m just having a bad dream or nightmare.
Not a penny for me in any of those programs!
But New Mexico ceasing to tax social security income would be a welcome change.
Correction. I guess SS taxing has been changed beginning in 2023. Will see.
It’s always easy to fund pet projects and surround yourself with like minded snakes using another person’s monies! Moochie Loserjan Gruesome you have earned your name ,you have always squandered monies and taken boondoggle trips out of state and out of the country to attend unnecessary parties on the backs of New Mexicans! It’s time for you to be removed -arrested and escorted out of the roundhouse in handcuffs!!
I sent emails to our reps and sens last year to stop taxing social security. maybe treat our O&G income like Alaska, but I think we get more into state coffers. It is like she is trying to piss-away our O&G income. What happens to our taxes if the democrats are successful in stopping O&G production.
MLG is a typical Socialist Democrat.. spend spend spend…..have a problem? Throw more money at it! The only part of that budget proposal I agree with is the education spending. Literacy and education are important for future leaders and to decrease poverty and homelessness. Teachers do deserve more money as their jobs have become more difficult qnd dangerous. But, I find it hypocritical that she wants to use funds from oil and natural gas production yet she wants to end those jobs and make us all buy electric cars. Go figure
She and all the other far left loonies will spend NM into oblivion. She only cares for herself. It is pure evil and greed. It has nothing to do with fossil fuel, actually that is where NM gets most of its revenue.
Why people believe in so called climate change, and support electric everything is beyond my comprehension. You all need to look at China and how they are polluting the earth and what it costs making batteries for electric cars that the average person cannot afford.
Kinda makes you miss Bill Richardson …
Her Thighness, queen mlg is wanting $5,000,000 for organized crime – would that be “The Committee to Fund MLG?”
I’d be willing to bet there is pile of cash for “The MLG Weygu Beef Fund” as well as an office for MLG’s Dress Designs by “Achmeed’s Tents & Awnings” hidden in the fine print.
For someone who hates the oil and gas industry, Lil’ queenie likes to spend that oil money…
IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE; KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID; BEFORE THEY GO SPENDING THAT MONEY THEY SHOULD GIVE US INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS SOME SIGNIFICANT RELIEF NOW!!!
It would be nice to know what some of those agencies and places actually do like the strategic water fund or the New Mexico housing trust. And 250 million to the land of enchantment land trust? What do they do with that money?
Maybe she should put a portion into border control and drugs that cross the borders. Better yet more police officers in Albuquerque.There’s
like a murder or domestic violence everyday. I live in Santa Fe and it literally has turned into mini-Albuquerque. I lived here all my life and the crime rate has never been so high.