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House passes HAFC substitute for HB2 and HB3 after hours of debate over school dorm funding and county relief amendments
Summary
The House approved the House Appropriations and Finance Committee substitute for HB2 and HB3 (state budget) 55–15 after prolonged debate. Lawmakers sparred over an amendment to cut New Mexico School for the Arts dorm funding and another amendment seeking DFA reimbursements for counties affected by closures tied to other legislation.
The New Mexico House of Representatives passed the House Appropriations and Finance Committee substitute for House Bills 2 and 3 — the state’s operating and capital budget — on Feb. 4, 2026, with a final recorded vote of 55 in the affirmative and 15 in the negative.
Committee chair (Speaker 30) presented HAFC’s substitute to the full House, outlining a cautious recurring-spending increase of about $36 million (approximately 2.7% or roughly $295 million in recurring increases cited by the committee) alongside roughly $2.6 billion in nonrecurring investments, including transportation, higher-education capital projects, and water infrastructure. The package included a 30% reserve target and a range of community-directed line items: roughly $300 million for higher-education capital projects, $100 million for housing, and $100+ million for water projects and aquifer mapping. The budget also set aside $32.8 million in matching funds for a federal economic development facility and dedicated $60 million for a wage-and-career-lattice for early childhood educators.
Floor debate produced two high-profile amendments. The first (floor amendment 233764.3) proposed eliminating a $2.3 million recurring dorm-operational appropriation for the New Mexico School for the Arts and reallocating that money across K–12 school improvement and prekindergarten slots. Proponents argued the reallocation would spread benefits to more students; opponents said the dorm funding supports statewide access to the residential arts program and cited statutory commitments that would be jeopardized if the residential program closed. In floor debate sponsor and opponents clashed over whether the line item represented an equity carve-out; supporters argued funds would reach more pupils if distributed broadly. The motion to table that amendment succeeded by roll call, 40–30.
The second amendment (233792.1) sought deeper audits of state agencies and asked the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) to reimburse public bodies whose facilities closed as a consequence of certain legislation (names of laws referenced orally on the floor, including prior discussion of House Bill 9). Opponents said the proposed requirement to have DFA make supplemental requests could supersede the legislature’s appropriation power and be open-ended; supporters framed it as relief for counties that would otherwise face unfunded losses in gross receipts tax and property tax revenue. The motion to table that amendment also carried after procedural votes.
After consideration of the substitute and the tabling of the two amendments, the House voted to pass the HAFC substitute for HB2 and HB3, sending the budget forward.
What’s next: The substitute had passed the House and will go to the other chamber and to conference negotiations as appropriate; committee chairs and staff were announced for follow-up and additional appropriations and capital-outlay processes were described by members.
