New Mexico lawmakers hash out record spending plan of $9.6 billion

Lawmakers in New Mexico are hashing out a record spending plan of $9.6 billion, which was crafted from a financial windfall linked to natural gas production.

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said he tried to be transparent in his handling of the spending bill while it worked its way through the chamber, and he was among those suggesting the state could be in for another roller coaster ride of dramatic spending increases followed by painful cuts.

"New Mexico had better be prepared in our future for the plateauing of oil and gas, and that’s not too many years away," said Sen. George Muñoz of Gallup, the committee chairman.