EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JOHN W. ANDERSON, Executive Vice President New Mexico Bankers Association 2025 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The 2025 Legislature adjourned on Saturday, March 22, having considered nearly 1,200 bills. A total of 195 of those bills ultimately passed both houses of the Legislature. The governor had until April 11 to approve or veto those bills sent to her by the Legislature for review. She ultimately ended up vetoing 35 bills and signed the remaining bills into law. At her press conference shortly after the close of the session, the governor criticized the legislature for its failure to enact juvenile crime measures she supported — measures that would have imposed longer sentences for juveniles convicted of certain enumerated crimes and lowered the age at which minors could be tried as adults for certain crimes. She has threatened to bring the legislature back into a special session to force action on those criminal proposals. It has been rumored that the governor is also considering calling a special session to address health care, including revisions to the New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act. Tax Package What started as a $130 million tax increase tax package (HB 14) ended up much leaner. The enacted bill provides: • No increased tax on oil production. • A 20% tax increase on wholesale liquor, sending $10 million in revenues to the Tribal Alcohol Harms Alleviation Fund. • $113 million, to be funded from next year’s budget, for: • $250 per foster parent/guardian personal income tax credit — $8.8 million. • GRT exemption for co-insurance payments for medical services — $22.5 million. Surprisingly, the bill was vetoed by the governor. Budget — HB 2 HB 2 includes total authorized recurring spending of $10.65 billion from the general fund for FY26 for agency operations and $141.2 million for compensation.
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