Cultural Affairs urges partial funding for several specials including Fort Stanton plan and fossils repatriation

Deborah Garcia Griego, secretary of the Cultural Affairs Department, told the House Appropriations & Finance Committee that most recurring funding needs are met but several special appropriations recommended by the executive were not included in the LFC package. She asked the committee to consider partial funding for selected items.

The executive recommended several specials that the LFC did not: $250,000 for a Fort Stanton master plan; $500,000 for the National Hispanic Cultural Center 25th anniversary; and $5,000,000 for a library endowment item. Secretary Garcia Griego asked for partial or phased support — for example, asking the committee to consider $300,000 toward the fossils repatriation and $150,000 toward Fort Stanton planning. She highlighted that Cultural Affairs has built a 0% funded vacancy rate and expended a high share of capital outlay commitments in FY26.

Committee members pressed for details on program capacity and where repatriated fossils are currently stored; the secretary said the San Juan Basin fossils are held at a Pennsylvania museum and that the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science would house them if returned. The committee adopted the LFC recommendation for Cultural Affairs; special appropriations remained to be debated in the supplemental/specials hearing.

What to watch: standing requests for rural library endowment increases and partial funding for special appropriations will be considered in upcoming specials deliberations.