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Senate reconciliation would move $100 million toward State Fair stadium plan while trimming natural-resources funding
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Summary
Senators debated an executive request to shift roughly $100 million to a State Fair District multipurpose arena and housing project, considered restoring $25 million to natural-resources programs, and questioned whether the Office of Natural Resources has authority to acquire private land for floodplain conversion in Ruidoso.
A Senate panel considering House Bill 2 reconciliation discussed a high-profile funding swap that would move money toward a proposed redevelopment of the State Fair District and also shrink natural-resources allocations.
Staff said the executive requested a $100,000,000 transfer to support a multipurpose arena and associated housing at the State Fair District; staff and several senators asked whether a feasibility plan and specific cost breakdowns exist. One staffer said, “The money almost went all to the state fair. ... It was in her exec rec, and this is part of the reconciliation.”
Several senators urged caution about using long-held Art in Public Places or other pots to cover new program goals. Members discussed splitting the $100,000,000, moving half to the project, or restoring $25,000,000 from the state-fair allocation back to natural-resources funding to blunt a deep cut. Staff noted the Office of Natural Resources currently has roughly $30,000,000 from prior transfers and another $15,000,000 in the package, and said the reconciliation altered several lines to meet reserve targets.
Ruidoso funding: Committee members and staff discussed a deal that set $30,000,000 for Ruidoso and said the funds could be used to match federal money to buy private floodplain parcels and convert them to public land; staff and some senators warned buying private property after a disaster sets a precedent and said details about specific projects were not fully specified.
Outcome and next steps: The committee signaled it would consider a limited restoration (a $25,000,000 move back from the state-fair transfer) as a compromise to preserve some funding for natural-resource projects while still responding to the executive’s request; final allocations will be resolved in the reconciliation and technical cleanup process.
