Jan. 5—Amid record revenue projections, state lawmakers on the Legislative Finance Committee unveiled a $10.1 billion budget proposal on Friday that, they say, will spread that money out over a number of years rather than blow it all in one session.

This approach will let lawmakers “go every single year for five to 10 years without having to cut” funding in the future in the wake of a poor revenue stream year, Senate Finance Committee Chairman George Muñoz, D-Gallup, said during a news conference at the state Capitol Friday.

“It keeps the state of New Mexico able to grow over the next couple of years without massive cuts,” he said.

The lawmakers’ proposal represents a 5.9% — or $566 million — increase over this year’s budget. The state’s legislative branch released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 a day after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham‘s staff issued their budget proposal.

The 30-day 2024 legislative session, which will largely be focused on budgetary matters, starts on Jan. 16. That’s when the real work will start as both sides began hashing out details and differences, making compromises and ultimately — and hopefully — coming up with a mutually acceptable budget that the governor can sign into law.

“We’re pretty close with the executive right now,” Muñoz said. “A little different in certain areas.”

Lujan Grisham’s proposed $10.5 billion budget included 3% salary increases for most state workers, with corrections, parole and probation employees getting an 8% raise and state police officers getting a 14% raise.

The LFC budget, in contrast, suggests an across-the-board salary increase of 4% for all state employees.

Some differences between the two budgets are minimal — the LFC budget recommends $4.42 billion for public school funding while the governor’s budget recommends $4.46 billion.

But the LFC proposal includes using $300 million in general fund money to create a new accountability trust fund, which would be a source for financially supporting long-term state departmental projects with nonrecurring revenue.

Divided over a four-year period and based on state departments providing data showing they are making improvements with certain programs, the initiative showcases a relatively new approach to budgeting that the Legislature has been slowing edging toward for years with the creation of endowment funds and the like.

This is a developing story and will be updated.