"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.

“It is especially important that New Mexico is relatively well-prepared to weather a recession because we will be harder hit than other states by lower oil and gas prices due to our over-reliance on that industry as a revenue source,” said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children.

We applaud Senator Tom Udall’s sponsorship of this bipartisan bill. The royalty and rental rates, as well as minimum bids, charged by the Bureau of Land Management on oil and gas extraction are woefully outdated – some haven’t been increased in a century.

“Given that we have one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation, it’s in the state’s best interest to expand this tax credit to more hard-working families with children,” said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children. “No child should be deprived of the benefits of this tax credit because of where their parents were born.”

“Children have been born, grown up, and become adults while the Air Force has been dragging its feet and interminably delaying cleanup. We owe it to the next generation of children to make sure the Air Force delays no longer,” said Kenneth J. Martinez, Chair of the Board of Directors for New Mexico Voices for Children.

“Ensuring an accurate census count is crucial for improving child well-being in our state because so much of the funding for health, education, and food security programs that New Mexico kids depend upon is determined by the census,” said Amber Wallin, deputy director of New Mexico Voices for Children. “One of the most important things our state can do to address child well-being is ensure that this legislation is passed and signed.”

“We’re clearly not adequately providing opportunity for children of color, who make up the largest segment of our child population,” said James Jimenez, executive director of NM Voices. “When we’re OK with the fact that so many of our children lack the opportunities they need to be successful, we really paint a dire picture for the future.”

Once again, some in the Legislature want to continue this slow-drip process for funding early childhood care and education services. Unfortunately, the Legislative Finance Committee budget recommendation is far below the investments needed in the programs that matter most to New Mexico kids and families and far below the responsible recommendations made by Governor Lujan Grisham.