New Mexico
New Mexico Senate endorses budget bill emphasizing savings during oil sector windfall
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is preparing to set aside billions of dollars to sustain government spending in the future in case an oil production bonanza fades in the transition to cleaner sources of energy. The Senate on Monday approved a $10.2 billion annual spending plan that also creates new endowments and trusts designed to support critical programs in the future. The 31-10 Senate vote sends the bill back to the House for concurrence on amendments. The Democratic-led Legislature has until noon on Thursday to send a budget bill to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for consideration.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico would set aside well over $1 billion to guarantee tuition-free college and sustain government spending in case its oil production bonanza fades in the transition to cleaner energy sources under an annual spending plan endorsed by the state Senate on Monday.
The 31-10 Senate vote sends the bill back to the House for concurrence on amendments. The Democratic-led Legislature has until noon Thursday to send a budget bill to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who can approve or veto any provisions.
The bill as amended would increase annual general fund spending by $653 million, or 6.8%, to $10.2 billion for the fiscal year running from July 2024 through June 2025.
The boost in state spending is dwarfed by more than $1.3 billion in general fund transfers to new endowments and trusts designed to bolster scholarships for college and professional training, housing construction, outdoor conservation programs and autonomous Native American education programs.
Legislators anticipate a $3.5 billion budget surplus for the coming fiscal year, driven largely by oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin that overlaps southwestern New Mexico and western Texas.
Republican state Sen. William Burt of Alamogordo urged colleagues to support the bill “because oil and gas won’t always be there for us.”
“We’ve got to look farther than the next few years. We’ve got to look at the long … future of New Mexico,” said Burt, one of six Republicans who voted for the spending bill.
The budget plan includes a new $959 million trust to permanently underwrite tuition-free college without fees for New Mexico residents — an initiative championed by Grisham since taking office in 2019. Public scholarships still are supported in part by lottery ticket sales.
The bill allocates $512 million to a “government results and opportunity” trust that would underwrite a variety of new programs during a three-year vetting period before future funding is guaranteed.
Another $75 million fund would help state and local governments compete for more federal infrastructure spending from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration’s signature climate, health care and tax package.
A conservation fund established in 2023 would get a $300 million infusion. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth said that would guarantee annual distributions of about $21 million to an array of conservation programs at state natural resources agencies, from soil enhancement programs in agriculture to conservation of threatened and big-game species.
A revolving loan fund to finance construction would receive a $175 million infusion to expand both housing and commercial building inventory.
“New Mexico, you are not a poor state,” said state Sen. George Muñoz of Gallup, the Senate’s lead budget negotiator, urging colleagues to endorse the budget and its investment strategy.
Democratic state Sen. Bill Soules of Las Cruces voted for the bill but cautioned that the state shouldn’t lose sight of such urgent concerns as childhood poverty as it builds up savings and investments. The bill includes funding for universal free school breakfasts and lunches.
“Are we afraid of the future and so afraid that we’re going to put money away for the future instead of addressing the needs today?” Soules said. “Making sure children don’t go hungry in New Mexico, aren’t abused and have a place to sleep at night — all of those are our obligations.”
Major annual spending increases include a 6.1% boost to K-12 public school funding, to $4.4 billion.
Medicaid spending would increase by $180 million, or 11%, as pandemic-era federal subsidies for the program recede and New Mexico increases payment rates to medical providers, including care for women with newborn children. The budget bill also increases pay by 3% for state employees and staff at K-12 schools, state colleges and public universities at an annual cost of $214 million.
It would funnel more money to rural hospitals, literacy programs, state police salaries, safety-net programs for seniors and road construction and maintenance.
Several provisions of the budget are contingent upon approval of companion legislation:
—New Mexico would become the 14th state to ensure paid time off to workers when they’re seriously ill or to care for newborns and loved ones under a bill that advanced Monday toward a decisive House floor vote after Senate approval. The budget would provide at least $24 million to launch the program, which funds leave through a combination of employee and employer contributions.
—Final passage is still pending on changes that would reduce personal income taxes across the earnings spectrum, collect more taxes on investment income, and provide tax credits toward the purchase of new and used electric vehicles that can be combined with federal subsidies. State government would forgo about $220 million in annual income. The bill passed the Senate on a 26-13 vote Monday, and awaits a House concurrence vote.
—Final approval also was pending Monday on several new endowments and trusts.
New Mexico
A 900K-acre land sale just made LA Rams owner Stan Kroenke the nation’s largest private landowner
The purchase of a New Mexico ranch nearing 1 million acres tipped the scales for Stan Kroenke, who is now the largest private landowner in America.
Kroenke, 78, topped Land Report’s annual list of the country’s 100 largest landowners, leading a pack of billionaires eager to beef up their rural portfolios.
Kroenke is worth an estimated $26.8 billion, according to Bloomberg, largely thanks to his ownership of sport franchises like the Los Angeles Rams, the Denver Nuggets and the UK’s Arsenal Football Club — as well as several of the teams’ sports arenas.
Kroenke, a Missouri native, is married to Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke.
Kroenke recently acquired more than 937,000 acres of noncontiguous New Mexico ranchland, rounding out his total land holdings to more than 2.7 million acres across the American West and Canada.
Land Report confirmed the December deal, which spans four New Mexico counties. The off-market transaction is the largest single land purchase in the US since 2011.
The price of Kroenke’s New Mexico purchase remains under wraps, but Land Report estimated the former value of his ranch holdings at $3.9 billion.
Kroenke made headlines in 2016 when he snapped up Texas’ historic Waggoner Ranch — the 535,000-acre property is largest piece of unbroken ranchland in the Lone Star State. Other acquisitions include massive ranches in Montana and Nevada.
In addition to rolling rural plains, Kroenke owns an estimated 60 million square feet of commercial holdings, the New York Times reported, including sports venues in California and Denver.
The investor’s busy two decades of ranch acquisitions has set him far above other high-profile billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
Bezos’ holdings ranked 21st in Land Report’s report, spanning close to half a million acres largely concentrated in Texas. Gates trailed behind in 44th place, whose prolific farmland purchases span roughly 275,000 acres.
An uptick in rural land grabs among billionaires over the past decade was hastened along in recent years by the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic and the so-called “Yellowstone Effect.”
New Mexico
Actor Timothy Busfield turns himself in following child sex abuse allegations in New Mexico
Timothy Busfield turned himself into police on Tuesday after authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant for the director and Emmy Award-winning actor accused of child sex abuse.
A spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department confirmed to CBS News that Busfield had surrendered. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County on a child sex abuse charge. The arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge, said the charge was for two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department on Friday filed a criminal complaint which alleged a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts allegedly occurred on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a TV series that Busfield directed and acted in.
In a video provided to TMZ, Busfield said the allegations “are all lies.”
“I did not do anything to those little boys,” the 68-year-old actor said in the video appearing to show him in Albuquerque. He said he arrived in the city after driving 2,000 miles. Busfield’s attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
The criminal complaint filed by an investigator with Albuquerque police says the boy reported that he was 7 years old when Busfield touched him three or four times on private areas over his clothing. Busfield allegedly touched him five or six times on another occasion when he was 8, the complaint said.
The child was reportedly afraid to tell anyone because Busfield was the director and he feared he would get mad at him, the complaint said.
The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was touched by Busfield but did not specify where. He said he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get in trouble.
When interviewed by authorities, Busfield suggested that the boys’ mother was seeking revenge for her children being replaced on the series. He also said he likely would have picked up and tickled the boys, saying the set was a playful environment.
The mother of the twins — who are identified only by their initials in court records — reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
“The Cleaning Lady” aired for four seasons on Fox, ending in 2025. It was produced by Warner Bros., which according to the complaint conducted its own investigation into the abuse allegations but was unable to corroborate them.
Busfield is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” the latter of which won him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991. He is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, who deactivated her Instagram account amid the allegations.
Gilbert indicated through a publicist that she won’t speak publicly at the request of attorneys for Busfield while the legal process unfolds.
“Her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family,” publicist Ame Van Iden said in a statement. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time.”
The investigation began in November 2024, when the investigator responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. The boys’ parents had gone there at the recommendation of a law firm, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, one of the boys has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. A social worker documented him saying he has had nightmares about Busfield touching him.
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