Lawmakers should fight for working families
Growing up in an immigrant family in Albuquerque’s International District, we didn’t pay much attention to what happened in Santa Fe when the Legislature was in session.
Like most New Mexico families, my parents were understandably much more concerned with their dayto-day realities of making sure we had shelter, enough to eat and clothes to wear to school than they were with Roundhouse politics.
But what I recognize now, after a decade as an advocate and nine years as a legislator, is that state lawmakers can have a tremendous impact on those day-to-day realities.
The work of our state Legislature is truly the work of the people — we represent communities big and small and make decisions that have immediate and direct consequences for our constituents. That is why, when I became speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives, I vowed to fight for working families. It is also why I am so incredibly proud of the work my diverse and dynamic House colleagues did this session.
Our budget process in the House is more open and transparent than it has ever been and the strength of that process is reflected in the results: A budget that works for New Mexico’s working families.
The budget we passed this year maintains robust reserves to weather rainier days, while also investing in key areas of impact that will make a difference for New Mexicans now and for generations to come. That includes our largest-ever investments in housing, education, workforce development and health care. What all of this means for families like yours and mine is: Affordable housing, stronger schools, good-paying jobs, access to quality health care, and more opportunities for all.
Additionally, this year’s tax package made New Mexico’s tax code more fair by reducing income taxes, with the greatest reductions going to the lowest income earners, and flattening our corporate income tax rate. This tax package also reflects our values as New Mexicans, with measures to incentivize the use of clean energy, support childcare workers, and help recruit and retain medical providers in our rural communities.
House Democrats also led the charge on a holistic approach to community safety that includes historic investments in behavioral health care, housing, and prevention programs to address the root causes of crime, as well as investments to recruit and retain police officers, targeted penalty enhancements for violent offenders, and common sense solutions to reduce gun violence.
Not everything we wanted to accomplish got across the finish line this year. Bills that would have created a Tribal Education Trust Fund for Native American students, enhanced governmental ethics standards, and increased penalties for felons in possession of firearms all died in the Senate and we came just two votes shy of passing Paid Family and Medical Leave in the House.
But like the hardworking New Mexicans we represent, New Mexico’s House Democrats won’t be deterred. We’ll roll up our sleeves and get back to work, because the parents picking up extra shifts so they can put dinner on the table are counting on us to keep delivering results.
The work of the people continues, whether the Legislature is in session or not.