Associate Press copy is provided via The Canadian Press
FILE – New Mexico economists and budget officials, including Legislative Finance Committee Chief Economist Jon Clark, at right, brief lawmakers about declines in state revenue, Dec. 5, 2016, in Santa Fe, N.M. Clark, a state cabinet secretary and former economist to the Legislature, was selected Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, to oversee New Mexico’s $49 billion nest egg of savings and trust accounts at the State Investment Council. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A state cabinet secretary and former economist to the Legislature was selected Wednesday to oversee New Mexico’s $49 billion nest egg of savings and trust accounts at the State Investment Council.
As state investment officer, Albuquerque native Jon Clark will oversee financial assets including the New Mexico land grant permanent fund — built largely from petroleum production on state trust lands since the 1970s to benefit schools, hospitals and other public institutions.
The 11-member investment council — a board of elected and appointed officials with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham serving as chair — conducted a nationwide search that generated more than 80 applications.
Clark in 2019 joined the Economic Development Department and rose this year to acting cabinet secretary at an agency that administers annual incentives worth hundreds of millions of dollars aimed at creating private employment opportunities, from job-training grants to film production “rebates” that can offset nearly one-third of local spending.
Prior to that, he worked as an analyst and chief economist to the budget and accountability office of the Legislature.
Steve Moises retired on Oct. 1 after a 13-year stint as state investment officer. Clark starts work at an annual salary of $285,000.
Management of New Mexico’s state investments has taken on increasing significance amid an unprecedented surge in state government income from oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin that overlaps southeastern New Mexico and portions of western Texas.
Voters last year approved an increase in annual distributions from the land grant fund to public schools and early childhood education programs. At the same time, state lawmakers have been setting aside billions of dollars in surplus state income each year in a variety of trust accounts for the future, in case the world’s thirst for oil falters.
The State Investment Council oversees New Mexico’s early childhood education trust, created in 2020 to generate investment earnings and underwrite an ambitious expansion of public preschool, no-cost child care and home nurse visits for infants. The fund already holds roughly $6 billion.
___
This story has been updated to correct the spelling for the first name of Jon Clark, rather than John.
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click
- 0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline0082 CsHM 2024 Pipeline
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001