Appropriations committee backs veterans services budget, flags $1M Taos cemetery request

The Appropriations & Finance Committee adopted the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) recommendation for the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services budget after a presentation from LFC and department officials and short member debate.

Kelly Klein, Legislative Finance Committee analyst, told the committee the executive and LFC recommendations differ overall by about $2.2 million across all revenues and by roughly $2.4 million in general fund. "Almost all of that difference is for 2 things," Klein said, adding that roughly $1.5 million of the gap was pay for current personnel and the remainder was a request for an expansion of the Taos Veterans Cemetery.

The department’s secretary, identified in the hearing transcript as Secretary Herrera, asked lawmakers to consider the executive budget because of recent reclassification and pay adjustments for Veterans Service Officers (VSOs). "We did a complete realignment of our VSOs ... we have to continue to pay and retain these employees," Secretary Herrera said. He also described the Taos Cemetery request and the federal decision affecting it: "the federal government will not be making that a VA funded cemetery because it falls within the concentric circles between Angel Fire and Santa Fe. ... At this juncture, the VA is not gonna undertake that as a VA funded cemetery." Herrera said the department is therefore seeking state support to assume operations and training and estimated a one-time establishment cost the executive described as about $1,000,000 and an ongoing annual operating cost of about $450,000 once established.

Members voiced support for the cemetery and for VSOs. Representative Herrera (first reference: Representative Christine Herrera) described the Taos cemetery’s community history and urged support: "It was an extraordinary day, and it's an extraordinary feat, for the people who built this. And I hope we can support the executive on this, mister chair." Representative Sanchez and others also urged support and asked about VSO staffing and response times. The department said it now has 33 VSOs (including supervisors), up from an estimated 17–20 historically, and that the agency added positions and reclassified VSOs to reduce federal poaching and improve retention.

Other operational items raised in committee included: - The department’s mobile outreach unit under construction; the secretary said it is expected to be delivered in the April–May timeframe and includes features such as a wheelchair lift used for rural outreach. - Maintenance and warranty work at the Gallup cemetery: the department said earlier construction was not done to standard and $4.1 million was transferred to the General Services Department to initiate repairs and pursue vendor warranty remedies; committee members noted a larger mitigation request had been earlier discussed (about $5.5 million). - Status updates on other cemetery projects: Carlsbad remains on a federal list but funding timing is uncertain; Bernalillo/Albuquerque cemetery planning anticipates groundbreaking within a year or two.

Vote and next steps A motion to accept the LFC recommendation for the department’s budget was moved by Representative Herrera and seconded by Representative Sanchez. Committee leadership called for opposition; none was voiced and the motion was adopted.

Why it matters The committee action preserves the LFC funding baseline for the veterans services department while underscoring member interest in an expanded role for the state at Taos. Lawmakers pressed for clarity on recurring operational cost and the contingency language that ties the Taos request to federal approval.

Ending note Committee members said they plan follow-up work on recurring staffing needs, cemetery operations and the mobile outreach unit as the larger budget process continues.