The New Mexico House and Senate on Wednesday passed House Bill 1, the budget bill, intended to help the state blunt the impact of lost federal funding.
The New Mexico House on Wednesday evening also passed House Bill 2, which authorizes the state’s Health Care Affordability Fund to subsidize expiring premium health insurance tax credits from the federal Affordable Care Act. HB1 includes $17 million to compensate for those lost subsidies.
Those tax credits became a partisan sticking point in the federal budget negotiations that led to the current federal shutdown.
“Because healthcare costs are rising at the same time that Congress is allowing these critical Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, New Mexicans are facing a one-two punch,” lead sponsor House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe) said in a statement. “For some families, these staggering cost increases will make it harder to put food on the table or pay rent. State lawmakers are stepping up in this special session to make sure healthcare remains within reach for our working families.”
The bill now moves to the Senate and has an emergency clause that will make it effective immediately once signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
House Bill 1 also includes funds to stopgap federal food assistance, including $8 million to support food banks statewide; $2 million to restock food pantries at universities and public schools, along with funding for Health Care Authority “to hire the staff necessary to help New Mexicans navigate the complicated new rules coming from the federal government’s unfunded mandates,” a news release stated.
“Over the last several months in meetings across our state, our Legislative Finance Committee has been closely reviewing the massive federal funding cuts and changes coming out of Washington, D.C. to understand how they will impact New Mexicans,” lead sponsor Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) said in a statement. “The investments we are making today are about responding in a responsible way to protect the things families across our state need most: healthcare and food.”
Meanwhile, the state Senate has passed Senate Bills 1, 2 and 3, addressing health care grants & stabilization; criminal competency and immunization rules and recommendations.
The remaining six bills introduced thus far seem unlikely to be move forward, as they are not part of the tight focus outlined in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s special session proclamation.
As of publication, the House had recessed until 11 a.m. and the Senate was expected to reconvene at 9 a.m. Thursday morning.