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City lobbyist warns HB247 will shift major water funding away from discretionary capital outlay
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Summary
City lobbyist JD Bullington told the governing body that House Bill 247 and the governor’s line-item vetoes are reshaping capital outlay: water projects likely must move to the Water Trust Fund, reauthorization rules tighten, and projects without encumbrances risk losing funding.
JD Bullington, the city’s contracted lobbyist, told the Santa Fe governing body that this year’s legislative session produced mixed results for the city’s capital outlay priorities and that a newly enacted reform bill will change how the city seeks water infrastructure funding. Bullington said the city’s five priorities were actively pursued but noted several large water projects — including the Paseo Real wastewater reclamation facility and Midtown redevelopment items — came in at $0 this session.
Bullington said House Bill 247 initially included language that would have prohibited discretionary capital outlay for water projects; while that specific language was removed, he said the legislature’s intent is now clear: "they wanna see you keep your water projects on your ICIP, but they want the actual funding to move out of the discretionary capital outlay arena" and toward the Water Trust Board and Water Trust Fund. He added that this signals a shift away from the discretionary capital-outlay pie toward top-off funding categories the legislature reserves.
Why it matters: Bullington said the change matters because the state is sitting on an unusually large backlog of unspent capital-outlay money and the governor used line-item vetoes to cut projects with no encumbrances. He flagged new encumbrance requirements and shortened windows for reauthorization: reauthorizations will be limited to two years and projects must have at least 10% of funds encumbered within the first six months or risk losing the award.
Bullington listed several locally important outcomes. He said the city secured $750,000 for a large-capacity noncongregate shelter and district-level projects totaling about $2,000,000 (for example, Bridal Park $750,000; Herb Martinez Park $700,000; plaza beautification $450,000). He also noted the airport terminal expansion was reported at $23,250,000 this session while some projects came up empty because of the new rules.
Councilors responded by agreeing to start project prioritization earlier in the municipal process, coordinate with state delegation members, and ensure staff and the governing body present projects that are shovel-ready and on the ICIP. Councilors emphasized that late audits previously froze some capital outlay funds and said they would work to avoid similar administrative delays in the future.
The governing body did not take a formal vote on a new capital policy at tonight’s meeting; Bullington and councilors said they will continue to refine timing, prioritize projects by district, and coordinate earlier with legislators ahead of the next session.
