New Mexico Voices for Children is cautiously optimistic about the revenue estimates released today. Given that 70% of the estimated decline in revenue for the current fiscal year can be attributed to the drop in oil and gas prices, it is clear that New Mexico needs to stabilize its revenue streams.

“Once again low oil and gas prices are causing shortfalls in dollars needed in the state budget for our schools, public safety, health care, and more. The IEEFA report released today makes it clear that we cannot simply blame COVID-19 for our revenue shortfall and expect New Mexico to recover when the pandemic subsides."

"Senator Bennet’s two bills are a good step towards holding oil and gas companies accountable for pollution created during the extraction of oil and gas. They will also make sure we don’t find ourselves in this situation again."

“While it’s always great to see improvement, we know that the COVID-19 pandemic has likely wiped these gains away for many New Mexicans. We know that the pandemic hasn’t hit every New Mexican in the same way.”

Nearly 18% of New Mexico adults living with children reported that their children are not getting enough to eat because of the public health crisis and recession. This crisis is bigger than any in our lifetime, but the Republican proposal doesn’t meet the needs of our state or the moment.

“What these data reflect is the end result of ten years of stingy state budgets under previous administrations that starved our schools, courts, health care, and other services that our families and businesses need in order to thrive,” said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, which runs the Kids Count program in New Mexico. “We were able to undo some of that damage during the 2019 and 2020 legislative sessions, but how lawmakers respond to the current recession will determine whether those gains are sustained,” he added.

“Born of the failure of Congress to enact true immigration reform, DACA has never been a perfect program, but it is a step in the right direction for the hundreds of thousands of young people born in another country. For many of these youth, America is the only home they have ever known. To deport them to what is, for some of them, a foreign country does not align to American values of fairness, inclusion, and the dream of a better life through hard work."

"The revenue estimate highlights how overly dependent New Mexico is on revenue from the volatile oil and gas industries. Thanks to ill-advised tax cuts in the past, oil and gas now account for one-third of the state budget. We simply can’t be that reliant on an industry with a boom-or-bust track record, particularly when the whole economy sours and other revenue streams take a hit due to the pandemic."

Many of New Mexico’s immigrants – including some with legal residency – have been mostly left out of ongoing state and federal relief efforts put in place to help blunt the coming recession and assist displaced workers and small business owners. That is one of the conclusions of a report released today to coincide with International Workers’ Day, which is May 1.

While New Mexico families are focused on making sure their loved ones are safe and healthy during this fast-moving crisis, other problems are brewing at the state level that may cause pain for years to come. Plummeting oil and gas prices are draining the state budget of funds needed for public safety, health care, education, and more. Actions by the Trump Administration will make this long-term revenue crisis worse.