A bill to designed increase the chances that approved capital outlay funding actually results in a completed project is under review in the New Mexico State Legislature.
For years members of that body, as well as public policy advocates, have derided a system that sees funded projects go unfinished, saying that in such situations the funding is thus wasted.
Now new legislation has been proposed by three lawmakers designed to tighten up the process.
House Bill 232, sponsored by Representatives Gail Armstrong, Meredith Dixon, and Dayan Hochman-Vigil, would task the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration with setting up a planning division that will assist local and tribal governments with their capital outlay challenges.
According to an analysis of the bill conducted by the Legislative Finance Committee, various obstacles often appear to prevent the completion of any given capital outlay project.
Those projects, says the analysis, include “piecemeal funding, lack of financial, technical, and administrative capacity at the state and local level, and insufficient planning prior to funding.”
The focus of the proposed planning division would be on “building and implementing a new capital project management and tracking system and establishing its funding navigation and coordination duties.”
The bill has now been approved by the House Appropriations & Finance Committee, with one week to go before the New Mexico State Legislature is scheduled to conclude its 2024 session.
By Garry Boulard
