ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — $4.5 billion has been allocated for hundreds of projects throughout New Mexico, but it’s just sitting unspent. That’s the total state lawmakers discovered in their latest capital outlay quarterly report.

There are six pages of what’s called red-rated projects – plans with state money already set aside that have made almost no progress.

For example, in 2022, lawmakers approved $10 million for pedestrian improvements in Old Town and the Sawmill District in Albuquerque. None of that money has been spent.

Over at UNM, $2 million was dedicated to health care lab improvements in 2021. Only around half a million has been spent.

Lawmakers awarded $1 million to renovate Santa Fe’s Midtown Campus in 2021. Officials haven’t spent a dime. So what’s the problem?

“It’s 112 different people making 112 different decisions without a lot of planning or coordination,” said Kristina Fisher, the associate director of Think New Mexico.

Fisher says the state’s capital outlay process is unique and outdated.

“Big projects don’t get fully funded and so a lot of the time there is money sitting on the sidelines because it is for a project that needs $10 million and a legislator was able to give them $2 million,” Fisher said.

Fisher said paying for projects in layers adds up because construction costs grow every year, so they’re perpetually underfunded. On top of that, communication is another problem.

“Sometimes funding will go to projects that the local government didn’t know about, didn’t request, doesn’t want, so that can slow that down,” Fisher said.

Think New Mexico is one of the groups calling for changes to the way the state handles capital outlay. Instead of allocating money for each lawmaker to spend on projects in their districts, Fisher believes the state should pool the money together and then distribute it more evenly and efficiently.

“So you would have local governments and agencies saying, this is what we need for higher ed construction, this is what we need for roads, for water systems, and figure out, gosh, we have a high priority need for pipelines over here and over there, and let’s make sure those get fully funded and are on track to go right now,” Fisher said.

This past legislative session, the governor signed a bill ensuring there’s better tracking of those capital outlay funds being spent.

To see the capital outlay quarterly report and all of the red-rated projects, click here.