NM House Passes Budget, Invests More Money Into Education, Economic

Development & Protecting Children

Santa Fe, NM The New Mexico House of Representatives passed its FY-2016
budget today, which maintains fiscal responsibility while funding some of the states
most important priorities at the highest levels. It passed by a bipartisan vote of 4225 and will now head to the Senate.
Among other things, the budget calls for more spending on education than ever
before to improve New Mexicos schools; increased funding into programs and
initiatives to protect children; and more money into economic development
programs to help diversify the states economy, which has been too dependent on
federal dollars for a century. In total, the budget calls for nearly $82 million in new
spending.
"I'm proud of my colleagues for supporting a budget that aims to improve our
schools, protect our children and help create a vibrant private-sector economy,"
said Rep. Larry Larraaga, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "We've
come a long way since the days of record deficits. With this budget, we can show
New Mexicans that we are serious about putting our families first."
Education
The budget calls for more spending on education than ever before. The total new
investment in K-12 education is $44.7 million ($36.6 million of which is general fund
money), with more dollars going into the classroom for things like reading coaches,
programs to help struggling students, and debit cards for teachers to purchase
classroom supplies. Education spending priorities include:

Raising annual starting teacher salary from $32,000 to $34,000

$100 directly to every teacher to purchase classroom supplies (total of $2

million)

A total of $15.5 million that will go toward interventions and support for
struggling students and schools

A total of $61.7 million for tutoring and interventions

o $24.5 million for Pre-K
o $22.2 million for K-3 Plus, a program that provides additional instruction to more
than 18,000 struggling students
o $15 million for Reads to Lead, a program that helps struggling readers
Protecting Children
The budget calls for increased spending into programs and initiatives that protect
children. This echoes the commitment House Republicans made to fight for New
Mexicos children by toughening child abuse penalties and closing dangerous
loopholes that harm kids. Among other things, spending will go toward:

$2.1 million to increase Children, Youth and Family staff to serve the growing
needs of our state


$2.2 million will go toward hiring and training 45 social workers, helping CYFD
meet national standards for caseworker caseloads.

$1.2 million will go toward seven new child advocacy centers, one-stop shops
that house CYFD caseworkers, law enforcement and community partners under one
roof to better coordinate on cases.

$1 million will go to five new family support programs throughout the state to
identify high-risk families working with them to ensure that all necessary supports
and services are in place

An additional $500,000 will go toward improved communication programs

creating a virtual desktop access to the CYFD system so law enforcement can have
real time access to case history
Economic Development
The budget also puts more money into economic development programs aimed at
bolstering the private sector and diversifying the states economy. For more than a
century, New Mexico has relied too heavily on Washington D.C. money, making it
vulnerable to federal budget cuts and partisan dysfunction. The budget calls for
more spending on proven job-creating initiatives, such as JTIP and the New Mexico
MainStreet program. Among other things, spending will go toward:

A total $1.6 million for tourism advertising, which will encourage more people
to visit New Mexico and spend their money in the state

A total $7.5 million will be used for the Job Training and Incentive Program
(JTIP), covering the cost of hiring and training new workers

A $600,000 increase will go to the New Mexico MainStreet program, which

helps revitalize downtowns across the state

A total increase of $250,000 for the Economic Development Partnership to

market the state to businesses

$400,000 for the Technology Research Collaborative in order to bring products

developed in our labs and universities to the private sector in New Mexico
Public Safety, Health and Environment
The budget also provides additional spending for public safety, health and
environment. Among many other things, this includes:

$3.3 million for raising salaries of uniformed police officers by five

percent

$1.9 million to help recruit and train more safety officers

$1 million for nursing facilities

$2.2 million for watershed and water restoration programs

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