House Committee Sets Budget Priorities

This is where the rubber hits the road.The House Appropriations Committee on Monday, February 2, finalized its budget recommendations via House Bill 2 (HB2 and HB3). And according to important advocates like the Food and Agriculture Policy Council (NMFAPC), HB2 contained money for a number of important programs but failed to include  ncreases/additions for other important initiatives..

The inclusion or exclusion of line items would go a long way to determine whether priorities related to hunger and human needs would be funded this year. One clear example why HB2/HB3 is important came in 2021, when a broad coalition of anti-hunger, food and farming advocates successfully pushed through the Food, Hunger and Farm Act, an omnibus bill to address hunger in New Mexico in a comprehensive manner. Alas, the initaitive was not accompanied by budget appropriations, so it became a giant wish list. 


Some 2026 photos: Senators huddle; Pam Roy chats with Sen. Shannon Pinto 

The Budget Includes....
According to Pam Roy and her team at the NMFAPC, the budget funded several important programs that will help address hunger in one way or another and also help our state's farmers, including small-scale operations. HB2 contained the funding requested for the following items (based on the NMFAPC's legislative priorities)

• Regional Farm to Food Bank Program (HB101 & SB108) – $2 million
• Approved Supplier  Program – $430,000 
• Healthy Universal School Meals – $42.2 million and $5.1793 million
• Healthy Food Financing Fund – $2 million
• WIC and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs – $1 million
• Agriculture Water Resilience Program - $10 million

"We have made significant progress in our priorities for the 2026 NM legislative session," said Pam Roy.

What was not funded?
Notably, funding for a couple of other ijmportant items was not included, including $1 million in funds for recipients of the  Double up Food Bucks program to buy proteins (meat, eggs, dairy products) at farmers market (HB114).The budget also excluded  $1.5 million for New MexicoGrown for Senior Meal Program (Kiki Saavedra Fund--which supports programs that enhance the quality of life and independence of older adults)

"We will work with the Senate Finance Committee to request adding funds (for these two programs)," said Roy.

What About SNAP? 
The House appropriations budget also appears to be missing new and critical funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). During a special session in October, the New Mexico Legislature appropriated $162 million to mitigate the cuts imposed by the federal Budget Reconciliation bill (HR1, aka kown as the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'), 

According to Sovereign Hager, benefits coordinator at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, the center had pushed for finding in HB2 to support administration of SNAP, including additional staff and funds for IT changes, funding for employment and training, and funding for state funded nutrition benefit to New Mexicans who are losing SNAP due to the federal HR1, which ends SNAP eligibility for immigrants in humanitarian immigration statuses. 

Incidentally, the NMCLP has put together a very valuable resource  entitled Know Your Rights--SNAP Work Requirements in New Mexico. The document is also available in Spanish.

In the absence of adequate funding in the House, "it is critical that people talk to Senate Finance members about this," said Hager.



The Next Steps

1. The full House must approve HR2 when it comes to the floor later this week
2. If the measure gains approval in the full House, the budget bill would then move to the Senate FinanceCommittee for furtherl consideration.
3. The Senate committee can modify and/or add line items according to its priorities (including increases the funding measures alluded to by Pam Roy and Sovereign Hager). The committee would then replace all appropriation sections of the bill rather than just the language for each change for simplicity—and submits the amended bill to the full Senate
4. The full House can approve or reject the amendments.
5. If the House rejects the amendments and the Senate refuses to withdraw them, a bicameral conference committee negotiates the differences, creates a new version of the bill through amendments, and submits that version to both chambers for an up-or-down vote. This version of the bill cannot be modified through floor amendments.
6. Once both the House and Senate have passed the same version of the bill, it goes to the governor for final action. 

See  Citizens' Guide to the New Mexico State Budget

Stay tuned for updates 
You can also attend the weekly Monday briefings held by the NMFAPC RSVP Here for Feb 9

Roundhouse Action & Awareness Days

Recent
Monday, January 26, Immigrant Day of Justice Somos un Pueblo Unido
Monday, January 26, Climate & Health Day at the Roundhouse  Healthy Climate New Mexico
Wednesday, January 28: Public Health Day  New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils
Friday, January 30: Food and Farms Day New Food and Agriculture Policy Council & Farm to Table New Mexico

Upcoming
Wednesday, February 4: Legislative Briefing and Bishop's Luncheon  Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico
Thursday, February 5: Environment Day at the Roundhouse  Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter and others
Friday, February 6: Public Lands Rally at the Roundhouse  New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and others
Friday, February 6: American Indian Day at the Legislature New Mexico Indian Affairs Department
Tuesday, February 10: Democracy Day of Action Common Cause New Mexico
Tuesday, February 10:  New Mexico School Nutrition Day  New Mexico School Nutrition Association
Wednesday, February 11: Disability Rights Awareness Day  Disability Coalition and Elevate the Spectrum  
Friday, February 13:  Senior Day at the State Capitol NM Aging & Long-Term Services 
Thursday, February 18:  Hunger Action Day Roadrunner Coalition to End Hunger