How to Influence How the State Spends Money

Download the full Advocate’s Guide to the New Mexico State Budget (updated July 2023; 20 pages; pdf)

Link to the Guide to New Mexico’s Tax System executive summary
Link to the full Guide to New Mexico’s Tax System
Link to the Guide to New Mexico’s State Budget executive summary
Link to the full Guide to New Mexico’s State Budget
Link to 
A Guide to Legislative Advocacy in New Mexico

Introduction

This guide is designed as a companion to A Guide to New Mexico’s State Budget, which provides a description of the budget development and appropriation process. As that guide explains, the state’s budget falls into two categories – the operating budget and the capital budget. The operating budget pays for state programs and services. The capital budget pays for capital outlay projects such as building new schools. This guide deals only with the operating budget, and particularly those programs and projects funded by the general fund.

This guide is written for people who are interested in advocating for general fund monies to use for operating and programmatic purposes. If you’re interested in getting state funding to physically build something in your community – say, a community center or a new park – that money would have to come from the capital budget. Advocating for funds from the capital budget is a very different process, and is not covered in this guide. But if you want the Legislature to fund a community program, such as an after-school program at an existing community center, then this guide is for you.