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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.”