Corrections requests $368 million budget for FY27, seeks $3 million recurring for reentry services

Alicia Tafoya Lucero, secretary of corrections, told the Legislative Finance Committee that the department is seeking $368,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 — a request she described as a 4.1% increase over the current base. "For FY27, we're asking for a total of 368,000,000," Lucero said, adding that most increases reflect mandatory health care affordability and rate adjustments rather than program expansions.

Lucero identified three main drivers: $5 million for health-care affordability adjustments, increases tied to GSD rates and facility leases, and a $3,000,000 recurring increase dedicated to the department's reentry division. "That $3,000,000 in the reentry area" is the only substantive program expansion requested, she said, and it is intended to support transitional living, behavioral health and essential community services.

Why it matters: the committee acts as the legislature's fiscal overseer, and the request mixes recurring and nonrecurring needs. Committee members focused attention on whether the recurring ask would be sufficient to sustain reentry supports that the department described in its materials — vocational training, CDL programs and a reentry podcast called Inside Voices — that officials say help reduce returns to custody.

Rising population and recidivism: lawmakers noted an uptick in the system's population in FY25 after prior declines. Lucero said a large share of new admissions appear to come from Bernalillo County and suggested multiple possible causes, including increased prosecution in that district. On recidivism, reentry staff reported a small bump in the latest full-year measure but said shorter-window tracking (3-, 6- and 12-month metrics) shows recidivism is declining again to roughly 37% in recent data and helps target early interventions.

Provider access and billing: the department said it bills Medicaid first for community-based behavioral health and housing services and that staff use a mix of RFPs and direct outreach to recruit providers. Haven Scogan, deputy director for reentry, described "boots on the ground" outreach by transitional coordinators who contact local providers and said long-term partnerships exist with many vendors.

Operational changes: Lucero explained a proposed administrative transfer of 23 positions from the institutional budget code (facilities) into the community-based probation and parole code to better align duties and funding sources. She also noted one contract facility that houses specialty-treatment populations, in which the department occupies roughly one-third of capacity while other bed space is used for U.S. Marshal and military holds.

What members asked: legislators pressed on metrics for seeing whether reentry funds work; the department pointed to enhanced tracking tied to Senate Bill 58 outcomes and said it has scaled its internal reporting and staff capacity to measure program performance. Members also sought details about the size and drivers of cost pressures (leases, food service, medical per diems and general rate increases).

Next steps: the committee invited follow-up meetings to drill into liability questions, a breakdown of supplemental and deficiency appropriations previously requested, and county-level provider availability. The department left the record open to provide more granular cost and supplemental documentation.

Ending: the Corrections presentation concluded with members signaling interest in the reentry ask while flagging broader budget pressures across state agencies; the committee moved on to hear from the Office of the Public Defender.