GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE BUDGET INCLUDES $46.4 MILLION FOR CULTURAL AFFAIRS

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s total executive recommendation for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs of $46.4 million for the 2023 fiscal year is a 9 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. The budget recommendation would increase the agency’s general fund by $3.3 million, which would support education and engagement initiatives, including the distribution of 2,500 more educational activity kits to grade school students statewide; $150,000 in critical funding to expand the department’s programs in rural communities and fund statewide participation in the national History Day Program to students in grades 6 through 12; $105,000 to fund programs that support armed service members and their families with art therapy services, musicians and performances statewide, and artist residences; additional full-time staff positions to oversee facilities maintenance and construction in the southern portion of the state; and more than $800,000 to support maintenance work, veterinary services, landscaping contracts, utilities, and other contractual services and operating costs at the museums and historic sites that come under the department. “Sufficient funding is crucial for the agency to serve its mission, and the FY23 executive budget recommendation will allow us to build on our success as custodians of the state’s incredible cultural heritage,” said NMDCA Cabinet Secretary Debra Garcia y Griego in a press release. “The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs continuously provides a broad range of cultural services, including arts education programs, libraries, historic preservation, archaeological research, collection and preservation of cultural resources, and operation of New Mexico’s eight museums and eight historic sites.” newmexicoculture.org — M.A.