New Mexico plots greater spending, from tuition to Medicaid

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Tuition-free college and more spending to secure abandoned oil wells are among the priorities from New Mexico’s Democratic governor on state spending amid a windfall in state income linked to federal pandemic relief and petroleum production. September marks the outset of the Legislature’s grueling budget writing process in a state still grappling with high rates of unemployment and childhood poverty.