Lawmakers briefed on DOT operating budget; members fault using fund balance for recurring costs and press for equipment and rural airport details

The House Transportation committee on Wednesday heard an informational briefing on the Department of Transportation’s operating budget (House Bill 3), with staff and Legislative Finance Committee analysts laying out fund balances, personnel costs and program‑level changes and members pressing for more detail on equipment lists and rural airport grants.

Joseph Simon, legislative finance committee analyst for the Department of Transportation, told the committee the technical working group identified “a little more than 90,000,000 in fund balances from different funds,” and said the packet shows a roughly $132,000,000 total increase driven in part by a $40,800,000 additional balance this year.

Members emphasized why those balances matter. Representative Patty Lundstrom warned against relying on one‑time money for recurring obligations: “Anytime you take a fund balance that you know you're not necessarily gonna have next year and put it into a reoccurring cost, I think that's irresponsible, mister chairman.” She said using fund balance to mask persistent operating shortfalls risks repeating last year's problems when the department ran out of budget authority.

The packet lists personnel costs at about $276,300,000, with Simon attributing much of the increase to policy changes that shifted more state funding to employee health insurance (about $7,000,000) and to a sizable rise in liability insurance charged by the general services department (about $5,100,000). Simon said the liability cost increases reflect rising claims and settlements from accidents on state roads.

Members also flagged equipment needs and maintenance contracts. The technical working‑group consensus includes an additional $6,000,000 for equipment purchases and larger increases for roadway maintenance contracts. Representative Catherine Brown said the department should expect some savings as oil prices fall and asked staff to provide estimates for how lower fuel costs might affect bids for hot mix and transportation construction.

Committee members pressed for concrete lists and allocations. Representative Lundstrom asked whether the proposed $16,000,000 in equipment purchases is divided by district and requested the interim equipment lists that each district submitted; staff said they would provide those lists. On aviation, staff said previous one‑time aviation fund balance commitments reduced available aviation revenue this year; LFC recommended $12.5 million and the executive recommended $18 million in special appropriations for rural air service, and members asked for a list of current grant recipients and projects in the queue.

A public commenter, Justin Bowen, student body president at Eastern New Mexico University–Portales, told the committee the campus and adjacent public roads suffer recurring sinkholes and potholes and asked for guidance on applying for state assistance.

The chair closed the informational session by noting the committee will receive follow‑up materials — including project lists, equipment inventories and charts showing how bonding and road‑fund revenues would flow — and will reconvene next week to consider amendments and a vote on HB 3.