MEDIA STATEMENT
Feb. 27, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sharon Kayne, Communications Director, NM Voices for Children, 505-361-1288 (direct)
OR: Marie-Pier Frigon, Communications Assistant, 505-361-1288 (direct)
ALBUQUERQUE, NM—James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, issued the following statement regarding the passage of HB 6 by the House Taxation and Revenue Committee earlier today:
“We’re pleased that HB 6 was approved by the committee. This bill is essential for helping New Mexico get off the boom-and-bust revenue cycle of the oil and gas industry and bringing in more revenue to make critical investments in New Mexico’s infrastructure and people.
“HB 6 makes New Mexico’s tax system more fair for our hard-working families by increasing the Working Families Tax Credit and addressing the state tax increase that families with children are facing due to the federal tax cuts.
“It also raises a significant amount of revenue that’s needed in order for the state to comply with the court order on the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit so we can more fully fund our education system. The education moonshot everyone’s talking about is simply not possible unless we raise revenue that is reliable and sustainable. Otherwise, we’ll be back to cutting the money that goes into our classrooms when oil and natural gas prices drop again.
“We particularly want to thank Reps. Jim Trujillo and Javier Martinez for their weeks of hard work on this bill.”
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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. 625 Silver Ave. SW, Suite 195, Albuquerque, NM 87102; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org