Gov. announces call for 2020 session

Layouts BreadCrumbs BreadCrumbs Priorities are education, economy, public safety, health and the environment SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday announced her agenda for the second session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature. The governor’s call for the 30-day legislative session scheduled to begin Tuesday, Jan. 21, encompasses the priority areas of education, the economy, public safety, health, and the environment. “Year One was a tremendous start, and I’m incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunity to keep building on that foundation over the next month – indeed, over the next year and beyond,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “My call for this legislative session underscores the work we are undertaking on two fronts: addressing urgent needs and strategically investing in sustainable improvements over the long term. “These proposals are investments in the present well-being and future success of students, workers, kids and parents all across New Mexico,” the governor added. “These are quality-of-life initiatives I am proud to introduce and support. My call underscores our rock-solid commitment to investing for tomorrow, delivering today. I look forward to working with the Legislature to make a positive, meaningful difference for New Mexicans.” Matters taken up during thirty-day legislative sessions are chiefly budgetary, focused on financial matters, unless otherwise indicated by the governor as a topic or specific issue she wants to address on behalf of New Mexicans. The governor may send a message down to the Legislature at any time during the 30-day legislative session authorizing a bill or proposal for consideration. Some of the following bills have been “pre-filed” by sponsoring lawmakers and are searchable on nmlegis.gov ; others are still being drafted and will be filed in the remaining interim before the session begins Tuesday. The governor’s call for the 2020 legislative session includes: Education: Early Childhood Trust Fund (HB83, Representative Gallegos & Senator Smith) Providing a dedicated and self-sustaining revenue stream to fund early childhood programs into the future, delivering a permanent investment in our youngest children. Part of the governor’s agenda to expand the education moonshot to begin from a child’s earliest days, the Early Childhood Trust Fund (ECTF) will fulfill a promise to parents and the next generation of families of New Mexico, created with a $320 million one-time initial appropriation. Centered on fiscal responsibility with financial safeguards built in, the ECTF will launch a positive and self-fulfilling cycle of investment and opportunity in our families and young children. ​​ New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship (Representative Salazar) Establishing tuition-free college for New Mexico residents, extending the education moonshot through greater access to higher education and careers. Estimated to benefit 55,000 New Mexico students, the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship will cover tuition and fees at any of the state’s 29 public institutions of higher education, providing up to four or two years of college for recent high school graduates and two years of college for returning adults. Funded with a $35 million appropriation to the Higher Education Department, the Opportunity Scholarship will remove the barrier of tuition costs, restoring the original promise of the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship, enabling more New Mexicans to obtain college degrees and certificates, resulting in better employment opportunities, higher overall incomes and a stronger workforce for New Mexico’s economy. Economy: ​Recreational Cannabis (Representative J. Martinez) Legalizing the use of recreational cannabis in New Mexico and establishing a regulatory framework for its use, including public safety considerations, public health safeguards, and the protection of the state’s existing medical cannabis program. Supported by 75 percent of New Mexicans in a recent poll , the legalization of recreational cannabis is projected to create 11,000 New Mexico jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. ​PERA Solvency (SB72, Senator Munoz, Senator Smith, Senator Neville, Representative Lundstrom, Representative Roybal Caballero)​ Delivering essential and equitable reform to the state pension system, setting the state on a course to eliminate the current $6.6 billion unfunded liability and accommodating the concerns of current and future state of New Mexico retirees while establishing safeguards against the effects of future economic downturns. Requiring shared responsibility in order to ensure New Mexico’s public pension system remains one of the best in the country, the fix for the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) ensures that the pension system is solvent within 25 years; strengthens recruitment and retention of public employees; ensures that cost-of-living adjustments are sustainable; has been endorsed by the PERA board; and makes important accomodations for the most senior and most vulnerable retirees; in all, ensuring a sustainable future for PERA. ​Lift Cap on Economically Targeted Investments as Percentage of Severance Tax Permanent Fund (Senator Campos) Raising the cap on economically targeted investments (ETIs) from the Severance Tax Permanent Fund (STPF) in order to ensure sufficient headroom between the investment cap and the investment target, enabling the State Investment Council to implement its recent policy decision to increase the target ETIs out of the STPF from five percent to nine percent. Unanimously approved by the SIC, increasing the target percentage of the fund to be invested in ETIs allows for an additional $200 million to be invested in New Mexico businesses, building on the significant investments in small business Gov. Lujan Grisham and the Legislature delivered in 2019. ​Electric Generating Facility Economic District Act (Representative Lundstrom) Establishing guidance on the next steps for the surrounding…