Pub. 17 2020 Issue 4

Issue 4 • 2020 7 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S originally allocated $400 million in funds from the New Mexico State Severance Tax Fund to provide loans to New Mexico businesses and nonprofits that experienced finan - cial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The legisla- tion would supplement the $100 million in small business grants already allocated. • Providing flexibility and opportunity to restaurants and other licensees by allowing alcohol delivery and reforming the State’s liquor licensure program. Expand opportunity for more New Mexico busi- ness-owners and keeping local dollars local: • Reforming the state procurement code to include a pref - erence for Native-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and promote spend- ing within New Mexico through set-asides for the required percentage of business contracts. Establish an essential new revenue source for the state and employment source for tens of thousands of New Mexicans: • Legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis through legis- lation that protects the State’s medical cannabis program, provides workplace safety and roadway protections, and enforcement and clear labeling of products. Ensure every New Mexican has the opportunity to create a fulfilling career with the required education and skills and without burdensome debt: • Funding the Opportunity Scholarship at $22 million would benefit up to 30,000 students. • Budgeting $4 million for a pilot project to target four- year degree-seeking students who previously received the Lottery Scholarship and lost eligibility but have one or two semesters left to complete their degree. Support the Education, Health and Opportunity of New Mexico Children and Families Protect New Mexico consumers: • Reforming predatory lending practices by limiting annual interest rates and increasing maximum loan size. Invest in generational improvements in education and well-being: • Providing for a 1% distribution of the State’s multi-billion dollar Land Grant Permanent Fund for early childhood education, which requires voter approval. Reduce the cost of health insurance and medical expenses for working families: • Creating a Health Care Affordability Fund that will replace a recently phased-out federal fee, expanding coverage to up to 23,000 uninsured NewMexicans in its first year and driving down premiums for tens of thousands of residents who receive coverage through the state exchange. Boost economically disadvantaged school districts and communities: • Establishing a Family Support Index that improves the economically disadvantaged metric in the at-risk index and calculates an at-risk index for each school to provide more precise information for local funding decisions and budget oversight; sets an annual disparity calcu- lation that ensures final State Equalization Guarantee payments are equalized with a per-pupil floor; consoli - dates funding, support and accountability for programs associated with addressing Yazzie-Martinez litigation; and ensures reversions for public school support revert to the state support reserve fund rather than the general fund, which will keep funds intended for public educa- tion available for educational programs. Address needs of differently-abled New Mexico students: • Creating an ombudsman’s office dedicated to special ed - ucation to investigate and advocate for reforms on behalf of families in the state special education system. Protecting health care providers: • Eliminate a provision within state law that criminalizes health care providers who perform abortion services. Rooting Out Racial Injustice in New Mexico: Acknowledge and reduce institutional racism within government: • With the Governor’s Council for Racial Justice’s support, enact Senator Linda Lopez’s previous legislation that addressed equity and antiracism in hiring, retention, pay equity, accountability in government and more. • The Council for Racial Justice, which has met regularly since August, has also endorsed the proposal to pull a percentage of funding from the Land Grant Permanent Fund for early childhood education, among other propos- als, including the establishment of a race equity director in the Governor’s Office. Promoting and Maintaining the Clean Environ- ment New Mexicans Deserve: Creating a Clean Fuel Standard: • Reducing emissions from the transportation sector. In 2018, 15% of New Mexico’s greenhouse emissions were n EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE continued on page 8 Lujan Grisham also renewed her request for the legalization of marijuana for adults. She described it as a way to bolster an economy now heavily dependent on oil and gas production, a volatile government revenue source.