The New Mexico House of Representatives has approved a state budget proposal valued at $10.8 billion—an amount that, if enacted, would mark the largest in state history with nearly a 6% increase over last year’s record spending. While proponents argue that the budget is designed to invest in key priorities, critics say it represents a bloated and fiscally irresponsible expansion.
According to House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chair Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), the proposal builds on the Legislative Finance Committee’s recommendations by adding significant, recurring investments in areas such as education, public safety, economic development, and water protection.
“I think we can all agree that those are key priorities for all New Mexicans,” Small stated during a news conference ahead of the hearing. He maintained that these investments would have an “immediate impact for New Mexicans and set us up for sustainable growth in the long run.”
Under the plan, the Public Education Department would see a 6% funding bump, while Higher Education would gain nearly 3%, and Early Childhood Education and Care would receive an over 21% increase. The state remains the worst in the country in terms of higher education despite massive funding bumps to education budgets.
Other departments—such as the new Health Care Authority and the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department—are slated for double-digit growth. Furthermore, public safety, corrections, and legal services are among the areas set to receive recurring increases, and state employees could expect an average raise of 4%.
Yet behind the fanfare of “transparent and collaborative” budget-making—Small even hailed it as “the most open, transparent and collaborative budget ever” and emphasized that “if you’re a rancher in Raton, this budget’s for you. If you’re a 6th grade student at Seboyeta Elementary, this budget’s for you. If you’re worried about affordability and access to health care in Albuquerque and any other part of the state, this budget’s for you”—there is a growing outcry over the sheer magnitude and scope of the spending.
A GOP substitute, introduced by Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R-Carlsbad), sought to pare back the proposal by cutting $1.5 billion in what she called “low-priority” one-time spending. Her version aimed to bolster state reserves further and redirect record oil and gas revenues directly to residents in the form of $600 payments. However, Democrats quickly criticized her plan for slashing investments in climate change and free housing for vagrants, among others.
Despite the contentious debate, the House approved the budget by a vote of 50 to 18, with the proposal now moving to the Senate and eventually to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for potential line-item vetoes.
Adding to the chorus of fiscal alarm, Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo) and Piñon Post editor took to Twitter to lambaste the budget, including its over $31.2 million allocated for climate change, $3.5 million for American beavers, over $600,000 for illegal alien programs on state college campuses, $35 million for paid family and medical leave funding, and more. His tweet read:
Critics argue that the lavish spending priorities, including what they describe as extraneous allocations for “culturally competent healthcare” and unconventional items like conserving the American beaver, reveal a troubling disregard for fiscal restraint. While advocates insist that these investments are critical to New Mexico’s future, opponents see the budget as an unnecessary and unsustainable expansion of state expenditures—one that places excessive burdens on taxpayers in the name of “progress.”
I think we need DOGE on the job. This is a pet bill and project of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club seems to be able to control a lot of the legislators, and, thus, legislation such as this.
YES! We need DOGE sooner than later. MLG is violating all that President Trump told the governors. She will hide all of her agenda that is against all that the people wanted by voting in President Trump to clean up all this nonsense.
Forget American beavers. How about saving American taxpayers
Hmm, this looks like a job for Elon Musk.
Hmm, with the size of this budget, Representative Small should change his name to Big.
The $1.5 million pollinator protection act needs to go. The honeybee is NOT NATIVE to the Americas and is NOT endangered. In fact, while the honeybee is a pollination specialist, it is completely unnecessary for many plants. Grapes and our largest crops here in SE NM- Pecans are 100% wind pollinated.
The liberal stories that pollinators are in trouble and all life on earth will disappear without them is similar to Greta Thunberg’s equally uninformed narrative.
Signed, A Beekeeper
The climate “ change “ scam is just that , a scam! The only thing green are the dollars they steal from taxpayers to fund this scam. When looked at in depth none of “their “ solutions to fake environmental crisis have ever solved anything. The real goal of the neo Bolshevik’s is to eliminate private property and deny usage of the land to the public. ie eliminating or severely restricting logging, mining and ranching from the original multi use forest service mandates has caused many once prosperous small communities to “dry up” and depend on state and federal aid to exist. Many became ghost towns. People , then by necessity gravitate to cities where they are easier to control.
I’ll just grab a beer and some popcorn and see where this leads. Probably no where.🇺🇸
If Wuhan-Grisham tries to play cute w/ NCAA IX like the idiot governor in Maine or refuses to assist ICE w/ deportations & maintains sanctuary cities, she’ll quickly (hopefully!) find federal funds entirely cut off. I am guessing NM is very heavily reliant on federal money & that kind of fiscal deprivity may well cause a budget re-prioritization….
You are correct that we rely heavily on federal funds. NM is actually #1 in federal fund dependence. The Demoncrats need to go. The only way for NM to see change is to change the party.
Such a waste of tax payers dollars. The idiots north of I 40 and Las Cruces keep electing these Demon 💩 and nothing will change. Hopefully DOGE will come arrest MLG and others.
Money or assistance of any kind for illegals – that is illegal. NM has a lot of poverty and the state wants to give free stuff to illegals – you are being replaced by illegals.
Pam Bondi needs to take action against Lujan-Grishman and NM.
It is hard to fathom a state budget over 10 billion in a state with a population of just over two million. How is this sustainable and with the worst level of academic achievement do we justify raises again. I have never worked a job where I got a raise for under achieving. I do not totally fault our teachers for this pathetic outcome but do think if our curriculum was focused on the basics and not the feel-good propaganda of the lib/dem administrators controlling it, our statistics would be better.
I would like to this state get some balls and get rid of the Democrats and good illegal is a dead illegal I will help ICE find them I sent a letter to Washington DC to Doge and the AG Pam Bondi
The article states, “The state remains the worst in the country in terms of higher education despite massive funding bumps to education budgets.”
This is, in fact, not true. While New Mexico is ranked at the bottom in childhood education, its rankings in terms if higher education is quite respectable. For example, here are some listings for NMSU nationwide:
Best Hispanic-Serving Institutions in America 28 of 405
Best Colleges for Agricultural Sciences in America 28 of 150
Best Colleges for Criminal Justice in America 44 of 706
Stephen Helmreich
Interesting statistics. The Agricultural Sciences Dept. houses the “cloud seeding” proponents. Cloud seeding bills in NM do not require the pilots to disclose what they are releasing into the skies. Most of what they release are toxins. At least the bills that I read had no restrictions on what could be injected into the air.
The Roundhouse needs to be DOGED!! Vote them out
We have a bunch of crooked, money grabbing Democrats (AH’S) running the State of New Mexico. We need to vote them out, impeach them or whatever it takes to git rid of them.