Alamogordo NM
2-14-2024 9:51am

New Mexico State Budget Passed the House with Senate Modifications with Little Debate

New Mexico lawmakers completed their one required job last evening approving a record $10 billion-plus budget, accomplishing their main goal of this year's 30-day legislative session. Now the bill heads to the the desk of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham who has the power of the Line-Item Veto.

The GENERAL APPROPRIATION ACT OF 2024 had to be revisited by the House after the Senate modifications prior to going to the Governor. The New Mexico House of Representatives took less than a half an hour to discuss and vote to concur with a proposed $10.22 billion budget already approved by the Senate.

The GENERAL APPROPRIATION ACT OF 2024  for fiscal year 2025, increases spending over the current fiscal year by 6.8%, or $653 million, and includes a slew of appropriations, including pay raises that would make the New Mexico State Police the highest-paid police agency in the state.

As reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican, House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, called for a voice concurrence vote on both HB 2 and House Bill 3; the appropriation act for the Department of Transportation; at the same time based on calls of "yea" or "nay."

After Martínez said the "yeas" had it, Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, said he wasn't so sure about that.

"If I had the red flag, I'd ask you to recheck the replay," Montoya said, referring to a practice in the National Football League and eliciting laughter from the assembly.

The New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has 20 days to sign the bill into law. She also can use her veto power to line out individual portions of the budget, as she and other governors have done in the past. This year's legislative session ends at noon Thursday.

Source: Mica Maynard Reporting from the Roundhouse for Alamogordo Town News on KALHRadio.org

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