House panel adopts LFC recommendation for Indian Affairs budget; secretary seeks three staff positions and tribal planning funds
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Summary
The House Appropriations & Finance Committee adopted the Legislative Finance Committee’s recommendation to hold the Indian Affairs Department’s operating budget roughly flat; the department requested three new positions and a $2.5 million special appropriation for comprehensive tribal community planning.
The House Appropriations & Finance Committee heard the Indian Affairs Department (IAD) budget and adopted the LFC recommendation to maintain the agency’s operating budget near FY25 levels while the secretary requested three new positions and supplemental funds for tribal planning.
What the department requested Cabinet Secretary Josette Monet told the committee IAD seeks three staff additions: a contract attorney to help review and manage intergovernmental agreements with Pueblos, tribes and nations; a chief procurement officer to ensure procurement processes and statutory responsibilities are met; and an office clerk to handle front‑desk and administrative duties and free executive staff for program work. Secretary Monet also requested $100,000 for space and training and a $2,500,000 special appropriation to support comprehensive community planning grants for nations, Pueblos and tribes.
LFC and DFA presentation LFC analyst Antonio Ortega and DFA analyst Nicole Macias outlined the budget difference: LFC proposed a flat operating budget while the executive recommended a roughly 7.7% increase to support the three positions and $100,000 in “other” costs. Macias noted a transfer of $249,300 from the tobacco settlement program for particular prevention projects that both LFC and the executive supported.
Vacancies, reversions and spend‑out Secretary Monet said the agency’s vacancy picture has improved compared with the prior year and that earlier conservative vacancy management reduced projected overexpends. Monet said IAD has been working to get carryover special appropriations expended: of a $25 million special appropriation passed in 2023, roughly $3 million remained encumbered or unspent at the time of the hearing; most of the 2023 special funds have been encumbered for project execution.
Energy Transition Act (ETA) funds and regional RFP Committee members asked about ETA funds tied to the closure of a plant in San Juan County. Monet said IAD is administering the regional RFP (RFP closes the day after the hearing) and that the department is monitoring proposals; she said IAD has sent some smaller professional‑services contracts to applicant entities and is prepared to request an extension if the RFP does not produce timely awards. The secretary said the ETA allocation to IAD (statutory percentage of available funds) produced about $1.805 million in available funding for the program in this cycle.
Audit note IAD’s audit contained a single material weakness related to a $185,000 prior‑year accounts‑payable accrual restatement that the department corrected; the CFO explained it was a one‑time reporting correction rather than an ongoing control failure.
Committee action Vice Chair Dixon moved and Ranking Member Chatfield seconded adoption of the LFC recommendation to keep the operating budget at LFC levels. The motion carried without opposition.
Why it matters IAD’s request signals an effort to build administrative capacity to manage multiple grant and special‑appropriation programs and to provide technical assistance to nations, Pueblos and tribes. Members welcomed greater outreach but generally accepted LFC’s conservative operating recommendation and directed staff to continue tracking the 2023 special appropriations and the ETA RFP process.