Legislative Finance Committee

State general fund recurring revenues were $577.2 million in December 2018, down $12.3 million, or 2.1 percent, from the same month a year ago. Recurring revenue collection for FY19 through December was $937 million above the same period a year ago, primarily due to the large, unprecedented bonus payment for federal land lease sales. Absent this windfall in federal royalty payments, fiscal year-to-date revenues are tracking about $492 million, or 15.5 percent, above last year.

Gubernatorial action on the General Appropriation Act, the capital outlay bill, and other fiscal legislation left spending essentially intact, although the governor vetoed some language and $1.3 million for repairing the Western New Mexico University library.

Aggregate holdings in the state's pension and permanent funds dropped 3.5 percent in 2018, a reflection of poor performance in the public equities market.

The General Appropriation Act emerged from the conference committee with an additional $2.1 million, including $1 million for four higher education centers of technical excellence, $200 thousand for an Office of Outdoor Recreation, and $700 thousand for the Legislature to provide constituent services.

Based on action by the Fifty-Fourth Legislature on fiscal bills, the preliminary FY20 general fund reserves are estimated to be 20.1 percent.