House passes $9.43 billion budget

All members of the New Mexico House of Representatives who represent Doña Ana County except one voted for House Bill 2, the General Appropriations Act, which passed the House Feb. 16 with a vote of 52-17, with one member excused.

It was the first state budget passed under new House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chair Nathan Small, a Las Cruces Democrat.

“Our House budget builds on the LFC’s important framework to make responsible investments that will pay off for New Mexicans now, and for generations to come, while also maintaining robust reserves,” Small said in a House Democrats news release.

HB 2 proposes a budget for fiscal year 2024 of $9.43 billion, an increase of about 12 percent over the current budget, according to the state Legislative Finance Committee (LFC).

Small and fellow Las Cruces Democrats Joanne Ferrary, Angelica Rubio, Micaela Lara Cadena and Doreen Gallegos, voted for HB 2, along with Democrats Ray Lara of Chamberino, Willie Madrid of Chaparral and Tara Jaramillo of Socorro, who also represent portions of Doña Ana County. Jenifer Jones, a Republican from Deming whose district includes two precincts in the county, voted against the bill.

The LFC said HB2 would:

• Increase public school general fund appropriations by $332.2 million, or 8.6 percent over the current budget. It “raises educator compensation by an average of five percent, provides parity with state

employees for educator health insurance coverage, raises principal minimum salaries and raises

educational assistant salary minimums to $25,000.”

• Increases funding for higher education by $80.5 million, or 7.9 percent, including “targeted raises for faculty.” It increases funding for the state’s opportunity scholarship fund to $119 million, up $12 million from FY23.
• Increases general fund appropriations to the Early Childhood and Education Care Department by $135 million, a 69 percent increase over FY23, “and sharply increases funding for home visiting and prekindergarten and childcare.” In HB2, “appropriations to the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) are up six percent and include funding to fill hundreds of existing and new social worker positions and funding … to help modernize the state’s child welfare system.”
• Increase funding for Medicaid by $242 million, or 20 percent over FY23. HB2 increases spending for behavioral health services across the Health; Human Services; CYFD; and Early Childhood Education and Care departments; and other agencies by $164 million.
• Increase funding for the state Economic Development Department by 11.3 percent and the state Tourism Department by 11.1 percent. It also includes substantial increases in the budgets of the Environment and the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources departments, and the Office of the State Engineer.
• Provide $1.5 billion to the state Department of Transportation for infrastructure projects, which is almost $100 million more than the LFC’s recommendation and $325 million more than the recommendation from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
• Leave general fund reserves at 30 percent.

HB now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

All 45 Democrats in the New Mexico House voted for HB2, along with seven of the House’s 25 Republicans.

Feb. 16 was the last day to introduce legislation in the 2023 session. The legislature adjourns March 18.