As New Mexico’s coffers continue to reap the benefits of a booming oil and gas industry, state government agencies are hoping to drill deep into the record-breaking revenues.
Agencies representing about 44% of the state’s general fund spending are requesting an additional $890 million for fiscal year 2025, an average increase of 20.5%, according to a recent report by the Legislative Finance Committee.
Sen. George Muñoz, a Gallup Democrat who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, said agencies should expect a “very critical” review of their budget requests, as well as questions about their past performance to justify receiving additional taxpayer money.
“I tell this to a lot of agencies, ‘You can be a jack of all trades and a master of none,’ ” he said Friday. “I think they need to slow down a little bit and master a couple first before they keep expanding.”
Maddy Hayden, a spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the Governor’s Office will continue working with agencies to refine the governor’s budget request, which is due in early January.
“The executive plans to submit a budget that is fiscally sound with targeted increases in recurring spending that improve the lives of New Mexicans,” Hayden wrote in an email. “With record revenue projections, we also have the opportunity to make significant one-time investments that will have generational impacts in health care, housing, education and the environment, among other key priorities.”
Muñoz said the state’s budget has ballooned in recent years and is headed for cuts unless agencies rein in their spending.
“My cautionary tale is we’ve had humongous increases, almost doubling the budget 15 to 20% a year for the last couple of years, and it’s unsustainable from here forward,” he said. “While we’ve had the plethora of being able to provide services and expand agencies … you can only budget so much increase. Otherwise, the state’s budget falls off the cliff really shortly, in one to two years.”
