PRIORITIES 

Education:  

I believe that every New Mexico child should receive a high-quality education, no matter their zip code.  We must work with students, parents, and educators to craft solutions that will put our students on the path to success. To do that we should: Ensure that sufficient funds are being directed to our classrooms and our at-risk students. This session’s budget included: 

  • Funding to ensure New Mexicans have access to quality education from early childhood through college.  

  • We are making sizeable investments in structured literacy, teacher mentorships and residencies, out-of-school learning opportunities, career technical education, and raising pay 3% pay-raise for all public and higher education employees.   

  • We provided increases for childcare assistance, child and maternal health, home visiting, and pre-K programs.   

  • In addition, we set aside $959 million for the Higher Education Trust Fund, which will offer a reliable source of revenue for higher education in years to come. 

Workforce and Economic Development 

This year’s budget prioritizes building a skilled workforce by providing funds for medical professional loan repayment, STEM scholarships, workforce apprenticeship training, adult education, and career exploration for young adults.  The budget also supports the state’s Local Economic Development Assistance Fund, expands staffing at the Economic Development Department, and funds grants to businesses in creative industries and outdoor recreation.   

In addition, I sponsored HB177 this session, which appropriates $75 million to establish the NM Match Fund to support local governments by providing matching state funds for federal grants—something that will allow our state to receive at least $8 back for every $1 in match we provide! 

Housing 

We know that the lack of available and affordable for hard working New Mexicans has many ripple effects.  That’s why we took a multi-pronged approach that includes over $200 million for: 

  • Housing development infrastructure 

  • Affordable housing 

  • Down-payment assistance 

  • Housing rehabilitation for seniors 

  • Transitional housing,  

  • Homelessness services, and more. 

I also sponsored HB 195 this session. This bill updates the Opportunity Enterprise Fund Act and establishes the Housing Development Fund for housing development infrastructure. 

Veterans & Military Families 

Good news—the tax-emption on military pensions enacted two years ago will be permanent!  We also increased funding at the Department of Veterans Services for more VSOs and passed HB 298, which would establish the Service Members and Veterans Suicide Prevention Program. 

Health & Wellbeing 

This session, we passed HB 7 which will sustain the funding for programs that small businesses and working New Mexicans rely on to make health care coverage affordable.  

The budget supports increased funding for the Developmental Disability waiver system, food banks, the Kiki Saavedra Senior Dignity Fund, and behavioral health care, among many others.  

We also passed legislation to increase prescription drug price transparency and reimbursement equity for independent pharmacies.   

Public Safety 

Reducing crime and making our community and neighborhoods safer is a priority for me. The legislature must continue to address crime and improve public safety by tackling systemic causes that lead to higher crime rates, and by making sure local law enforcement has the tools it needs to better fight crime. 

This session, public safety remained a top priority.  

  • We appropriated $25 million for law enforcement recruitment, $25 million for firefighter recruitment, and $11 million for emergency medical services.  

  • In addition, we passed bills to increase the penalties for second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder, as well as institute a commonsense a seven-day waiting period for firearms purchases, with some exceptions for law enforcement officers, concealed carry permit holders, and others.    

  • I also sponsored HB 193, which updates the Law Enforcement Retention Fund for tenure-based retention bonuses for our local law enforcement officers. 

Taxes 

Among the items included in the omnibus tax package were the extension of the Angel Investment Tax Credit and the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax credit.  In addition, the package flattens the corporate income tax to 5.9% and exempts the sale of New Mexico businesses from the capital gains cap.  It also includes several tax credits for clean energy projects such as geothermal, energy storage, and rooftop solar systems.