The First Session of the 58th Legislature

January 4-15, 2027: Legislation may be prefiled
January 19: Opening day (noon)
February 18: Deadline for introduction
March 20: Session ends (noon)
April 9: Legislation not acted upon by governor is pocket vetoed*
June 18: Effective date of legislation not a general appropriation bill or a bill carrying an emergency clause or other specified date
*Dependent on 2026 Constitutional Amendment outcome

BlueSky Profile

Reverse the “Brain Drain” Bill Goes to House

Senate News & Op-Eds

Contact: Erika Martinez
(505)986-4263

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2014

Reverse the “Brain Drain” Bill Goes to House
Bill Aims to Keep Students Working Locally After Graduation

Santa Fe, NM – Senate Bill 36 (SB36), designed to keep New Mexican students working in the state after graduation, has passed committee and is on its way to the House Floor. Bill sponsor, Senate Majority Whip Tim Keller (D-17-Bernalillo), says he is optimistic that the legislation will go to the governor as it also has support from several businesses in the state, as well as all three research universities in New Mexico.

The bill seeks to help reverse the “brain-drain” in New Mexico by giving a $5,000 tax credit to companies who hire graduate students from Science, Technology, Health, Education and Math (STHEM) programs in New Mexico.

“We want to retain our students by offering incentives to complete their studies through assuring jobs are available.  This keeps our workforce strong and the New Mexico economy stable. The statistics show that we lose eight out of 10 graduates to neighboring states and it’s about time we push these initiatives through to change that. This bill will help encourage companies to create jobs for our graduates, right here at home,” said Sen. Keller.

The bill includes a sunset clause and reporting requirements.

###