Legislative Finance Committee

Even with money available it can be difficult to spend when expertise and workforce is in short supply

Earlier this summer, the state’s nicotine prevention and cessation efforts were halted when money the state gets from a settlement with tobacco companies fell millions short of what the Department of Health had projected. Lawmakers overseeing the funds questioned the department about the issue and got a fiscal update Wednesday and said they plan to reintroduce legislation to give nicotine prevention work in New Mexico the stability it needs.

While New Mexico has long struggled with the nation’s highest rate of alcohol-related deaths, the pandemic has inflamed the issue, according to a report released Thursday. The state saw an average of six people die each day from alcohol in 2021, and few living with the addiction are getting treatment.

Experts and advocates are voicing their concerns about the future of a newly passed conservation fund. They met in Las Vegas, New Mexico Wednesday to tell a powerful legislative budget committee the fund could run out of money by 2029 if lawmakers fail to step up.

Although nearly $4 billion was appropriated by Congress for the compensation program, only a small percentage of that has been paid out. The Legislative Finance Committee got an update on Tuesday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

This week, President Joe Biden went on a three day campaign blitz to show Americans in the Southwest what he’s been doing to help their day-to-day lives and how he’s tackling climate change in the meantime.

Homelessness in New Mexico has risen 48 percent according to a 2023 preliminary report by the Legislative Finance Committee. And while Native Americans made up 11% of the state’s population in 2021 they represented 17% of people experiencing homelessness. Democratic Representative Derrick Lente of Sandia Pueblo highlighted these disparities during a recent LFC committee hearing. He said this is an on-going issue on both urban and Native lands.

The Legislative Finance Committee held its first interim meeting this week and appointed Charles Sallee as interim director. The committee is extending its search for a permanent director.

As a top oil and gas producer, New Mexico has some of the strictest emissions rules in the country. That includes a state Environment Department rule that went into effect last year that aims to reduce ozone-causing air pollution by 260 million pounds a year. However, Environment Secretary James Kenney says the agency is falling short on enforcing the rules and is asking the Legislature to help change that.

Recently the Legislative Finance Committee met to review the progress of spending New Mexico’s share of federal pandemic aid. There are a lot of projects either on-going or in the planning stages and lawmakers want to make sure those projects get funded before access to those federal dollars expires.