SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A look at budget issues facing the Legislature, which convenes Tuesday:
BACKDROP: New Mexico’s current state budget is more than $6.1 billion, and revenues are expected to reach nearly $6.3 billion in the fiscal year starting in July. That provides about $140 million in “new money” for lawmakers and the governor for budget increases and to offset tax cuts.
PROPOSALS: Gov. Susana Martinez and the Legislative Finance Committee have both recommended a 2.3 percent budget increase. Both proposals call for a large chunk of the increased spending to go toward education and early childhood initiatives. Martinez’s plan also calls for most agencies’ operational budgets to remain flat.
OUTLOOK: The amount of new money the governor and lawmakers have to work with for the next budget year could end up being slashed by as much as half as oil prices continue to drop. A $1 change in prices causes a $7.5 million change in revenue for the state’s main budget account. Lawmakers are expecting to make adjustments to their budget proposal when a new revenue forecast comes out next month.
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