New Mexico State Land Office

Headed by the elected Commissioner of Public Lands, the State Land Office is the trustee for roughly 9 million surface acres and 13 million subsurface mineral acres of New Mexico state trust land granted at statehood. Oil & gas royalties, grazing, and renewable-energy leases on these lands generate on the order of $1-2.5 billion annually — the dominant contributor to the ~$30+ billion Land Grant Permanent Fund, whose earnings underwrite K-12 public schools, the university system, hospitals, and other named beneficiary institutions. Unlike multi-member land boards (e.g. Montana, Colorado), NM vests this authority in a single statewide elected officer.