James Jimenez, secretary of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, told lawmakers last week that about $340 million of surplus funds could be available next year to finance capital improvements and other one-time spending proposals.
It will be the second year in a row that New Mexico will have a surplus of capital outlay money, a result of better-than-anticipated tax revenue because of high energy prices.
The Legislature will address how such funds should be spent when it convenes in January for a 60-day session.
Jimenez said roughly $340 million will be available for capital projects - about $142 million of bonds backed by severance taxes and $150 million to $200 million from the state's cash reserves, which have risen significantly because of improved revenue related to oil and natural gas production.
In his testimony to the Legislature's interim Water and Natural Resources Committee, Jimenez said the executive and legislative branches should agree on which capital improvement projects will be the state's top priorities. Financing for those would be allocated "off the top" of the available money, he said.
Some financing would be left, he said, for other projects identified as locally or regionally important by individual legislators or the governor.
Nearly $490 million worth of capital improvements were approved earlier this year by the Legislature and signed by the governor. About $122 million of that was general obligation bond financing, which voters approved Nov. 2.
