Legislative Finance Committee

Funding for New Mexico public schools now exceeds a target cited in the Martinez-Yazzie ruling as a “wish list,” but student achievement continues to lag, partly because implementation and oversight challenges remain.

Although the Department of Health has made progress since a 2021 LFC evaluation found quality and operational challenges at facilities, significant issues with quality of care and utilization persist.

In the last two years, the Legislature has invested a total of $300 million in state and federal funds for broadband expansion and created a new governance structure to consolidate management; however, very little has been spent and four out of five newly added positions remain vacant, although hiring is reportedly in progress

Approximately $1.4 billion was appropriated to 4,700 local capital projects from 2018 to 2022, with 72 percent ($1 billion) unspent as of June 2022. These totals include an estimated 250 reauthorized projects.

Significant drops in inmate population have enabled the Corrections Department to accommodate extremely high vacancy rates among correctional officers and other staff and provide the department an opportunity to invest in programs that reduce recidivism.

The New Mexico Medicaid program, the largest healthcare payer in the state and largest Medicaid program per capita in the country, is asking for a base increase of $245.2 million in state funds in the budget year that starts July 2023, an 18 percent increase, with much of that needed to replace federal funds boosted by the pandemic health emergency.

The year-end report cards show state agencies scored more green ratings than yellow and red, but in some cases, the high ratings might be sign targets are set too low to be a true measure of the success of a program or so easily attainable programs have no incentive to improve.

Strong state revenues and an influx of federal funds have contributed to historically large investments in capital projects at the same time supply chain, construction cost, and labor issues are slowing progress on projects, contributing to outstanding balances of $3.8 billion across about 4,600 active projects.