Santa Fe, N.M. – Today, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the recently passed House budget bill, bringing fiscal solvency to the state’s finances and creating a budget framework for recovery in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. 

Sponsored by Representative and Chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup), House Bill 1 achieves fiscal solvency while prioritizing the education, health care, and public safety of New Mexicans. By sanding roughly 4% across most state agencies from their pre-COVID FY21 budgets while also utilizing record-high state reserves, House Bill 1 responsibly bridges the state’s roughly $2 billion budget shortfall.

“We’ve learned from previous downturns that we cannot kick the stool out from under New Mexicans and expect a strong recovery,” said Representative Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup). 

“The recently signed budget puts the education, health care, and safety of New Mexicans first, and it’s a framework that provides our state flexibility as we navigate the uncertainty brought by the pandemic.”

In addition to bringing agency budgets back in line with their FY20 levels, House Bill 1 as signed by the Governor does the following:

• Allows up to 4% sanding off-the-top across all state agencies, with the exception of the Public Education Department, the Department of Health, and Medicaid in the Human Services Department
• Gives agencies the authority to implement reductions to bring their budgets into the same range as FY20 spending in order to maintain the state’s investments in the people of New Mexico  
• Makes increased investments in Public Education increasing non-administrative educator pay by 1%
• Continues focusing on transforming education while ensuring educators and school personnel can provide for their families by increasing overall investments by nearly 4%
• Distributes $750 Million from federal CARES Act funds to state COVID-19 expenses
• Makes conscientious sweeps of some capital outlay funds, road, and infrastructure projects
• Adjusts the amount going towards the Early Childhood Development Education Trust Fund while leaving room for expansion moving forward

Having been signed by the Governor, House Bill 1 takes effect tomorrow, July 1.