Fiscal Year 2026 State Agency Budget Requests: Available for the public
by Dr. Andrew Miner, DPA, Director, State Budget Division
The State Budget Division (SBD) of the Department of Finance and Administration is pleased to make state agency budget requests for Fiscal Year 2026 available to the public to increase transparency and understanding of the state budget process. Being informed allows for full participation in the budget-making process which affects the lives of all New Mexicans.
Budget Request Process
State agencies submit budget requests to both SBD and the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) annually. This year, the deadline for submission was September 3, 2024. SBD team reviewed all budget requests for technical accuracy. In the coming months, executive and legislative staff will use the requests to develop their respective budget recommendations prior to the Legislative Session in January 2025.
Please note that the requests for public school support and higher education institutions will be submitted later this fall and are thus not included here. This is important because together they constitute 55% of the state general fund budget.
High-level Summary
The collective general fund increases requested by agencies total $688.5 million, a 14.9% increase over their total FY25 operating budget of $4.63 billion.
Agencies with the largest requested increases in either dollar or percentage terms include:
- The Administrative Office of the Courts ($16.9 million, 33.6%)
- The Office of the State Engineer ($9.7 million, 28.6%)
- The Early Childhood Education and Care Department ($165.2 million, 47.5%)
- The Health Care Authority ($255.8 million, 12.8%)
- The Department of Health ($42.8 million, 21.3%)
- The Children, Youth and Families Department ($37.7 million, 14.5%)
The worksheet Summary of Received General Fund Requests lists every state agency, their FY25 general fund operating budget, and their requested FY26 budget. Please note that dollars are listed in thousands; for example, $5,000.0 means five million dollars.
The total FY25 general fund operating budget for New Mexico is $10.2 billion, including $4.3 billion for public school support and $1.2 billion for higher education institutions. Therefore, the total requested increase in dollars and percentage terms for FY26 will not be known until these requests are submitted. However, a good rule of thumb for consideration in the FY26 budget is that a 1% increase over FY25 will amount to approximately $100 million.
Nonrecurring Requests
Agencies also submitted requests for special appropriations (one-time monies) on September 3, with requests for supplemental and deficiency appropriations to address current or prior-year shortfalls due on November 15. In New Mexico, supplemental appropriations are additional funds allocated by the Legislature during the fiscal year to cover unexpected expenses or emergencies. Deficiency appropriations are specific supplemental funds provided to address shortfalls in a department or program’s prior-year budget to ensure compliance with generally accepted accounting principles.
The total general fund requested for nonrecurring special appropriations amounts to $2.2 billion. Some of the largest requests include $75 million for the New Mexico match fund created in the 2024 Legislative Session, $150 million to the Environment Department for the investigation and remediation of neglected contaminated sites, $80 million to support the implementation of the statewide broadband plan, and $175 million for statewide road maintenance. For a complete list of received requests, refer to the Received Special Appropriation Requests worksheet. Details regarding many of these requests may be found within specific agencies’ budget request submissions.
In August 2024 the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG) provided its revenue projection forecast for FY26, which adjusted the definition of “new money” to properly account for the large amount of nonrecurring spending in the past few years due to large increases in available revenue. The new money of $659 million presented by the CREG assumes that the Legislature will appropriate $2.5 billion, the same amount as FY25, for nonrecurring purposes in FY26. The $659 million is thus available for increases in recurring or nonrecurring spending or for saving to add to general fund reserves.
What’s Next?
SBD invites the public and stakeholders to carefully examine the operating budget and nonrecurring budget requests submitted by state agencies. Legislative and executive leadership will use this information to craft the Fiscal Year 2026 budget prior to and during the 2025 legislative session.