The Legislative Finance Committee recommended today that
It’s just a proposal to work from when the session starts on Jan. 16, and would represent a $537-million increase in spending from this year.
The proposal also provides $105 million in tax cuts, the news service reported.
Of the total increase, $271 million would go to public education, including $135 million for increases in pay and benefits. State employees would get an average 5 percent raise, with probation, parole and correctional officers and public defender and district attorney employees getting significantly higher raises.
Those areas of law enforcement have been stretched for years as Gov. Bill Richardson and the Legislature have increased funding for police officers to fight drunken driving, but not given them the additional resources to handle the increase in arrests.
Teachers, public school employees and higher education employees would get raises of 4.25 percent plus 0.75 percent toward their educational retirement funds, the news service reported.
Legislators have expressed caution in spending the additional money available this year.
“Revenues are precarious, given the focus on energy,” Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, told the Associated Press.
Because of that, lawmakers want to focus on increasing funding to existing programs, rather than funding new ones. They’ll also work harder to make funding decisions based on previous performance, not future promises.
Many lawmakers have criticized the Richardson administration in recent months for spending money without legislative approval and accused the executive branch of providing, at times, misleading information in order to secure funding approval.
“After four years of the current administration, I think it’s time for us to get some accountability,” Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe and LFC chairman, told the news service.
Varela’s comment is another sign that, regardless of who is the speaker, the House will be more independent from the governor in 2007.