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Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and legislative leadership on Monday announced the agenda for the upcoming special session slated to begin Tuesday, which will be squarely focused on providing economic relief to New Mexico households as prices remain high around the country.
“We stand together in our support of New Mexico families by providing meaningful financial relief in the face of rising prices, and we have a real opportunity to ease the burdens so many are currently experiencing. Our state is in a good position financially, and we should do all we can to ensure that New Mexicans are feeling that success too,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said.
The governor and legislative leadership are proposing to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in household relief to New Mexicans through $500 payments to single filers and $1,000 for joint filers, which will likely be distributed in two parts in the spring and fall. Together with the rebate checks that will be distributed in July as a result of legislation enacted by MLG last month, over 1.4 million New Mexicans will receive up to $1,500 in household relief to help offset the high price of gas, groceries and goods.
“Many New Mexicans will already be receiving rebates based on legislation we passed in February,” Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth and Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart said in a joint statement. “And through a collaborative effort with our colleagues in the House and the Governor’s office, we’ve reworked the original junior bill to see that the statewide projects get funded as intended while including new provisions to provide for additional transparency.”
The Legislature will also consider a measure to cut RailRunner ticket costs for the next several months to provide an affordable option to commuters as gas prices remain high.
Lastly, state lawmakers will revisit the revised supplemental spending “junior” bill, providing $50 million for community projects and programming throughout the state. The governor and legislative leadership worked in partnership to agree on parameters for a revised bill, including ensuring that projects are appropriately budgeted as recurring or non-recurring funding after the governor raised concerns over transparency and accountability. The bill will include new requirements that ensure transparency for each project.