New Mexico heads into its 56th legislative session on Tuesday, and while much of the early talk from legislators and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham centers on money for childhood development programs, other social programs and tax rebates, the big background story of this year’s session is oil and gas money and how the state is going to spend it.
Since 2010, companies have taken ever more oil and gas out of the ground in New Mexico. Oil production alone has grown tenfold in that period, leading to ever-larger fossil fuel revenues for the state. Of a record-busting $9.4 billion budget (a 12% increase over last year), 35% will be funded through oil and gas revenues, according to the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC). During the Lujan Grisham administration, the annually increasing revenue has boosted social spending, including across-the-board teacher pay increases, free college and university tuition, expanded health care coverage and other social programs.
