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One of the most important bills this legislative session has tiptoed through the House with scant publicity and no controversy.
House Bill 232, to create the Infrastructure Planning and Development Division within the Department of Finance and Administration, sounds a dry and bureaucratic, but it could transform the state’s dysfunctional capital outlay system.
Communities need public works, such as senior centers or libraries, and their legislators secure capital outlay money to get them built. However, small entities – towns, counties, tribes, water districts, school districts – often don’t have the expertise or personnel to meet state requirements for planning, auditing or reporting, so the projects enter capital-outlay limbo, with funding committed but action suspended.
Currently, some 4,900 projects and nearly $5 billion are stuck in the pipeline.
“There’s a better way to govern. It’s not good government the way we’ve been doing it,” said Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, chair of the House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee. She joined Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, and fellow Albuquerque Democrat, Rep. Meredith Dixon, to sponsor HB 232. “We can’t fix all the problems, but this is a beginning.”
The new division would have some of DFA’s existing programs and personnel, plus some new ones, to provide expert guidance and hand-holding to chase funding, evaluate and advise on proposed plans, and leverage state funding to obtain federal grants.
Currently, no state agency is clearly responsible for riding herd on capital outlay projects, making sure the money is spent and seeing that projects reach the finish line.
HB 232 passed the House unanimously on Feb. 9, and the budget bill has money to stand up the new division.
The bill is mostly the work of Cally Carswell, a legislative capital outlay analyst. Hochman-Vigil calls her “the capital outlay queen.”
“Over time we’re trying to create a one-stop shop to help develop projects and see them through,” Carswell told the committee. The new division will provide services to communities that want and need them. Knowing how touchy lawmakers are about their capital outlay allocation, she assured them that the bill “does nothing to infringe on the appropriations process.” It assures that the projects they want actually get finished.
Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, observed that New Mexico’s capital outlay process is the butt of criticism because unlike other states, where capital outlay is allocated by priorities, New Mexico simply hands money to the governor and legislators to spend.
“The biggest problem is not allocating but how we get the money out the door,” Harper said. “School districts say they have a hard time getting through the process. This is an incredible idea. Why didn’t we do this two decades ago? This will really make a huge difference.”
Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, saw another advantage in helping communities identify other funding sources.
Hochman-Vigil said that long term, the division could help coordinate all funding sources.
HB 232 gets a thumbs-up from business. The New Mexico Chamber of Commerce wrote: “Historic federal infrastructure funds will expire in a few years. This strategy supports New Mexico’s aging infrastructure and strategically ensures that local communities statewide are able to bring new economic development into their communities.”
DFA itself is enthusiastic, writing: “The capital outlay process in New Mexico is due for a much-needed system (overhaul) and reorganization. HB 232 will accomplish this and over time will streamline the process… Without the passing of HB232, the state will continue to see the same systemic obstacles with the infrastructure and capital outlay process.”
The biggest obstacle is the clock. The session ended on Feb. 15.
