HAFC combines SB273 and SB274, redirects funds to FY27 and boosts Torrance County aid

Albuquerque — The House Appropriations and Finance Committee (HAFC) on Thursday combined Senate Bill 273 and Senate Bill 274 into a single appropriations substitute, narrowed most funding to fiscal year 2027 and approved a set of voice amendments that raise several Torrance County allocations and add a $450,000 line for prisoner transport. The committee passed the substitute as amended by voice and adjourned.

Chair Small told members the amendment would merge the two appropriations into one bill to simplify tracking and asked Adrian Avila, the Senate financial staff member, to explain the package. Avila said Senate Bill 273 was developed in response to House Bill 9 to provide two-year, bridge funding to counties affected by the loss of large detention contracts. "For Otero, it was designed specifically to help pay the bond payments that are due for the prison facility," Avila said, and the package also targeted utility and transportation costs for counties such as Cibola and Torrance.

Director Breiding told the committee the HAFC amendment reduced the SB273 dollar total by focusing on fiscal year 2027 only: "The original Senate Bill 273 spends about $15,000,000. This one spends about $10,400,000." Breiding said lawmakers were narrowing the appropriations because several contingent triggers could make FY28 funding unnecessary and to limit the risk of stranded funds.

Committee members pressed staff for details. Representative Saranana asked about a prior $3,200,000 transportation figure that the amendment halved; Avila said he did not have an exact prisoner count but that counties reported transport "is effectively twice the cost of keeping them there" when the state must compensate neighboring counties for housing detainees. Representative Vincent and others asked about job losses and data confidence; Avila said the numbers came from three hearings and were cross-checked with county managers and TRD data, but that Torrance County submitted limited data and the package is a starting point.

The substitute also folded in policy items from SB274, including a governor's GROW component and a DFA payment to the Pueblo of Zia. Representative Brown asked what documentation supports the proposed $2,000,000 payment "for past, present, and future use by the state of the Zia symbol." Chief Schlegel of the Indian Affairs Department told the committee the appropriation would be implemented through a negotiation arranged by the Indian Affairs Department with the Pueblo if the appropriation is approved.

Representative Lord offered a floor-style voice amendment to correct and increase Torrance County line items after consulting local sources and the clerk; Chair Small described the change as a voice amendment that raises a $300,000 line to $900,000 (half of the FY27 component) and adds $642,000 on another line plus $450,000 specifically for transporting prisoners from Torrance County to facilities outside the county. "Everything you see is actually what we need in Torrance County," Representative Lord said.

Several HAFC voice amendments were adopted by consensus with no recorded opposition: the committee adopted HAFC amendment 1 (combining the bills), HAFC amendment 2 (adjusting monthly distribution language and limiting the appropriations to FY27), and HAFC amendment 3 (the Torrance increases and the prisoner-transport allocation). Representative Duncan supported the package: "This is the right thing to do," he said, referencing rapid local revenue losses after contract terminations.

The committee then voted by voice to give a DO PASS recommendation to the Senate Finance Committee substitute for SB273 as amended; Representative Brown moved the motion and Ranking Member Chatfield seconded. No recorded roll-call vote was taken.

What happens next: The recommendation recorded in HAFC is a committee-level DO PASS on the Senate Finance substitute as amended; the bill will proceed through the House process and may return to the floor with the HAFC amendments incorporated. The package contains trigger language tied to future contracts and contains reversion language (unused funds revert to the general fund per the bill text) that committee staff pointed out during questioning.