By Jo Mixon
The Second Session of the 54th Legislature
- December 16, 2019 thru January 17: Legislation may be pre-filed
- January 21: Opening day (noon)
- February 5: Deadline for introduction
- February 20: Session ends (noon)
- March 11: Legislation not acted upon by governor is pocket vetoed
- May 20: Effective date of legislation not a general appropriation bill or a bill carrying an emergency clause or other specified date
The 2020 session of the New Mexico Legislature commences Tuesday Jan. 21, at noon. In this short 30 day session, devising a state budget for FY21 is our lawmakers number one priority.
New Mexico continues to see unprecedented general fund revenues from oil and gas activity. The latest projections show that the state could see $907 million in “new money”, in excess of what it spent in this year’s budget, the second straight year with massive budget surpluses. Both the Legislative Finance Committee and the Department of Finance and Administration have submitted budget recommendations based on December revenue projections.
At the core of New Mexico’s fiscal stability problem remains the increasing reliance on volatile revenues from the oil and gas industry which is over 40 percent of the state’s revenue. Most policymakers are familiar with the risk and reliability these funds pose to recurring revenues, so the upcoming budget process should be interesting.This can make budget projections difficult. And s lowdowns could occur due to it’s boom and bust nature.
The increased revenues will once again give legislators more money to budget for increased spending in areas like education, healthcare, economic development and infrastructure and to add to reserves to guard against future economic slowdowns. Projections say that nearly $500 million will go into the “Rainy Day” fund over the next two years which already saw $197 million from the initial deposit this fiscal year.
Focused, one-time investments are a highly beneficial use of funding that can encourage long- term economic development, improve New Mexicans’ quality of life and maintain existing state assets that continue to deteriorate due to limited capital project funding in recent years.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said she will add to the agenda, the legalization of recreational marijuana as well as a permanent fund for early childhood education and free tuition for most college students. It’s a 30-day session, so the governor has some power to set the agenda.
For those interested and want to search for and keep up with bills, watch live webcasts, find committee schedules, contact information for legislators, etc. etc. visit New Mexico Legislation . See the information below to join us at Angel Fire Day at the Santa Fe Legislature. It is a great opportunity to meet our new Governor, her cabinet members and many of the legislators.
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