How the American Rescue Plan will help New Mexico
Fact Sheet The American Rescue Plan Act will help New Mexico in a number of ways - income supports, housing and food assistance for families, and education and health care assistance for the state, cities, counties, and Tribes. This fact sheet looks specifically at how children of color - who have been disproportionately harmed by the pandemic - will be helped. (State-level estimates, some by race and ethnicity, on how many people will be impacted)
A Guide to New Mexico’s State Budget: Executive Summary
Executive Summary Our state budget is a reflection of what we value most and an illustration of the kind of communities we wish to create. How we spend and allocate funding – basically, how we make our values a reality – is decided by the lawmakers we elect to represent us in Santa Fe. They create the annual budget that the state uses to provide services that benefit us collectively, like education and health care. (Link to the full Guide to New Mexico's State Budget here)
A Guide to New Mexico’s Tax System: Executive Summary
Executive Summary The taxes we all pay are how we fund the state’s programs and public services that benefit us collectively. They are how we build our roads, bridges, waterlines, electrical grids, and how we educate our children, advance public health, and uphold our laws. These programs and services form the foundation of our economy, enhance our quality of life, and pay dividends far into the future. (Link to the full Guide to New Mexico's Tax System here)
A Guide to New Mexico’s State Budget
Budget Guide Updated in March 2021, our Budget Guide explains how the state spends and allocates funding. The state budget is a reflection of what we value most and an illustration of the kind of communities we wish to create. The lawmakers we elect to represent us in Santa Fe create the annual budget that the state uses to provide services that benefit us collectively, like education and health care. (Link to the executive summary here)
A Guide to New Mexico’s Tax System
Tax Guide Updated in March 2021, our tax guide explain the state's tax system, which is used to fund the state’s programs and public services that benefit us collectively. Taxes are how we build our roads, bridges, waterlines, electrical grids, and how we educate our children, advance public health, and uphold our laws. These programs and services form the foundation of our economy, enhance our quality of life, and pay dividends far into the future. (Link to the executive summary here.)
Strengthening All Communities for a Brighter Future
Report Immigrants strengthen our communities in many ways - from boosting the economy and the labor force to paying millions in state and local taxes. Still, immigrants are not treated with the equity they deserve. The COVID-19 pandemic has made that more clear than ever. This report looks at the ways in which immigrants contribute, how they were excluded from federal pandemic relief, and what can be done to create a more inclusive state. (State-level data on population demographics and economic and tax contributions)
Juvenile fines and fees are bad for youth, families, and the state
Fact Sheet Court fines and fees for juveniles are harmful to youth and their families, racially discriminatory, and costly to administer. They can quickly amount to hundreds of dollars, resulting in a significant financial burden for New Mexico families, taking from them some of the very resources they need to invest in their children’s future and purchase food, education, housing, and health insurance.
Orphaned Wells and Inadequate Bonds: How the Oil and Gas Industry Could Soon Become a Financial Burden
Policy Brief Overproduction, a global price war, and the COVID-19 pandemic have led many oil and gas companies in New Mexico and across the West to file for bankruptcy. This means orphaned wells – inactive wells that bankrupt companies have failed to plug – are left behind to pollute the state, which also has to pay the clean-up costs due to inadequate bonding requirements. At the same time, the pandemic has resulted in revenue shortfalls for our state budget. (State-level data on orphaned wells, estimated clean-up costs)
2020 New Mexico KIDS COUNT Data Book
NM KIDS COUNT Data Book Child well-being in New Mexico was improving. But then the COVID-19 pandemic and recession struck. This annual report provides data on numerous child well-being indicators housed under four domains (economic security, education, health, and family and community). While we don't know the full extent of the harm COVID-19 has caused our kids, some pandemic-specific data from the fall of 2020 are included. (Data on the state, county, tribal area, and school district levels on child well-being)
Tobacco taxes support a healthy future for New Mexico
Fact Sheet Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined. One evidence-based way to help youth and those earning low incomes to stop or reduce smoking is to increase tobacco taxes. It also raises some of the funding needed to cover the public health care costs. (State-level data on smoking, death rates, etc.)