New Mexico legislature seeks spending boost, tax cuts

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Proposals to increase state spending and slash taxes moved closer to reality with crucial floor votes Monday in the New Mexico House and Senate, as lawmakers set priorities for an unprecedented deluge of state government income.

The state Senate voted 37-3 to endorse a $8.48 billion general fund spending plan for the fiscal year starting on July 1 — a 14% increase over current-year spending.

Senate additions to the spending plan worth $150 million still require House approval or negotiation if disagreements persist. Those changes boost spending on violence intervention programs, grants to underwrite business expansions, anti-hunger programs and more.

“We have an opportunity in New Mexico like we've never seen,” said lead Senate budget negotiator George Munoz of Gallup.

The state is flush with cash linked to surging oil production and prices, and a windfall in federal pandemic relief, with no immediate end in sight. Revenues for the coming fiscal year are expected to exceed current annual spending obligations by $1.6 billion.

House legislators voted 59-9 in favor of a Democrat-sponsored tax relief package worth $385 million in its first year. Senate lawmakers are advancing their own tax-cut proposal with many similarities.

The House proposal would eliminate taxes on Social Security income for middle-income earners, provide parents with an annual credit or rebate of up to $175 per child, give a $1,000 credit to full-time local hospital nurses and slightly reduce the rate of the state gross receipts tax on retail sales and business services.

Other minor provisions would eliminate taxes on feminine hygiene products and incentivize the installation of home solar panels.

Democratic Rep. Christine Chandler of Los Alamos emphasized that the child-tax...