The New Mexico legislative session begins Tuesday and the state budget will be the main item in the short 30 day meeting.

It may seem like a spending explosion, but the big budget numbers look a lot smaller when you take the long view.

The Guv is proposing a general fund budget of $7.68 billion, an 8.4 percent increase, with a 25 percent reserve target. Only a couple of years ago the budget was $6 billion. Rather than an irresponsible spending spree much of the increase made possible by the oil boom restores cuts resulting from the long recession and the fiscal austerity of the previous administration.

The NM Wilderness Alliance comes with a good example of how this plays out in the Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department and that applies to many other state agencies:

During the Richardson administration, the department averaged $22,504,000 in general fund appropriations. That's $28,194,000 when adjusted for inflation. Under the Martinez administration, EMNRD’s budget saw an average of $19,958,000, or $21,518,000 when adjusted for inflation. This represents a 23.68% cut when adjusted for inflation.

In FY 2020. . . EMNRD’s budget was increased 9.31% from the previous year to $22,084,000. For FY 2021, EMNRD has requested a 12% increase to $24,757,000. . . accounting for inflation, this would represent an +8.84% increase from the Martinez administration, but 16.93% less than the average under the Richardson administration. Currently, the agency’s program support division, responsible for day-to-day operations, has a vacancy rate of 21%. According to the department, the proposed budget increase would help meet its goal to lower the vacancy rate to 5%.

The Governor's budget also continues to restore funding and positions cut or left vacant from the important Children, Youth and Families and Human Resources departments. A second year of proposed raises for state employees comes after years of no raises or tiny increases. Her budget also proposes a modest number of  new state positions.

The great state government retrenchment is over and New Mexico is playing catch-up. The irresponsible spending party that Republicans are warning of may come but it's not here yet.

WAY BACK MACHINE

We jumped in the way back machine to take a look at New Mexico in FY 2004. Back then, the General Fund budget was $4.127 billion. The proposed budget this year is $7.68 billion, an increase of about 86 percent. In FY '04, the Land Grant Permanent Fund totaled $7.279 billion. Today it is $19.5 billion, an increase of about 168 percent from '04. That's despite the historic stock market downturn in '09.

The expansion of Medicaid has been a significant factor in the increase in the state budget. The MLG budget would increase funding by $55.8 million--for a total Medicaid budget of $1.1 billion. The Feds match about three dollars for every state dollar.

There are about 850,000 New Mexicans on the Medicaid rolls today, 41 percent of the state's population. That represents a massive increase that began in 2013 when Medicaid expanded under Obamacare. From the fall of 2013 through July 2016 alone, enrollment in Medicaid soared by 303,355 people.

HISPANIC POWER

We blogged last week of the dearth of Hispanics in the legislative leadership and the leadership of the two powerful appropriations committees.

According to ABQ Dem State Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino, our classification of two lawmakers as Anglo was not completely accurate. He reports that Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen says she had a Mexican mother and was adopted by an Anglo family. He adds that House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Patrica Lundstrom has a Hispanic mother. We duly note that, but doubt it will assuage those who feel the leadership still does not reflect the state's majority-minority make-up.

SENATE CHASE

Montoya

Freshly minted GOP US Senate candidate Rick Montoya, 72, of Rio Rancho served as an Assistant Secretary of Interior in the administration of the first President Bush, not the second, as we had it last week. He also served in that post in the Reagan administration. Government consultant Montoya announced his candidacy in Las Cruces.

The now six way GOP race is being narrowed down by the Alligators. They say weatherman Mark Ronchetti, who is aligned with the Martinez faction of the GOP, and Louis Sanchez, part owner of the Calibers firing range who is aligned with the Pearce faction, are the two front runners.

The March state GOP pre-primary convention will sort it out. If a candidate does not garner 20 percent of delegate support they don't get an official spot on the June primary ballot.

Meantime, Gov. Martinez will speak to the February 1 Bernalillo County GOP pre-primary convention, Martinez ally and former GOP County Chair Robert Aragon is seen pulling the strings on that one.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2020