December 14, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Chris Nordstrum
(415) 601-1992
Chris.Nordstrum@nmlegis.gov
SANTA FE – Today at the Special Legislative Session focused on redistricting, House Bill 2, a measure appropriating a portion of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, passed the Senate on a bipartisan (36-4) vote.
“The targeted allocations in HB2 represent an effective way for us to put some of the federal aid into vetted, one-time projects that are ready to go, getting money out the door and continuing our pandemic recovery efforts,” said Senate Finance Committee Chair George Muñoz. “This includes $50 million to build a hospital in a high-need area of the state. But there is still more to do, and during the regular session in January we will be looking at making even more bold, transformational investments with the remainder of these federal funds – investments intended to lift the state up for generations.”
HB2 transfers all $1.1 billion of the ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds to an account within the general fund, and appropriates $345 million of those funds to meet a variety of statewide needs, including the healthcare response to Covid-19, economic recovery projects, surface water and river habitat improvements, and affordable housing and housing assistance for the homeless. Additionally, the bill appropriates $133.1 million of federal ARPA capital project funds for broadband infrastructure statewide, alternative broadband including by satellite, and for building or upgrading tribal libraries to enhance access to broadband.
The Senate Finance Committee amended language in the original bill to better allow EMNRD’s Oil Conservation Division to plan for plugging and remediating orphan wells, and the committee changed the $2 million appropriation for the teacher affordability scholarship fund to the teacher loan repayment fund in order to address more urgent funding needs of the Higher Education Department.
Additionally, Senate Finance removed a $26 million appropriation for statewide broadband from the APRA State Fiscal Recovery Funds, but left in place the other $133.1 million appropriations for broadband access from the APRA capital project funds. In committee hearings earlier in the session, the Department of Information Technology expressed concern regarding the department’s ability to expend all of the dollars appropriated in House Bill 2 within the bill’s timeframe, and the committee’s decision to remove $26 million from the bill will free up those funds to meet other statewide needs in the regular session.
The amended House Bill 2 now goes back to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
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