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Even with money available it can be difficult to spend when expertise and workforce is in short supply
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Earlier this summer, the state’s nicotine prevention and cessation efforts were halted when money the state gets from a settlement with tobacco companies fell millions short of what the Department of Health had projected. Lawmakers overseeing the funds questioned the department about the issue and got a fiscal update Wednesday and said they plan to reintroduce legislation to give nicotine prevention work in New Mexico the stability it needs.
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While New Mexico has long struggled with the nation’s highest rate of alcohol-related deaths, the pandemic has inflamed the issue, according to a report released Thursday. The state saw an average of six people die each day from alcohol in 2021, and few living with the addiction are getting treatment.
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Experts and advocates are voicing their concerns about the future of a newly passed conservation fund. They met in Las Vegas, New Mexico Wednesday to tell a powerful legislative budget committee the fund could run out of money by 2029 if lawmakers fail to step up.
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Although nearly $4 billion was appropriated by Congress for the compensation program, only a small percentage of that has been paid out. The Legislative Finance Committee got an update on Tuesday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
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This week, President Joe Biden went on a three day campaign blitz to show Americans in the Southwest what he’s been doing to help their day-to-day lives and how he’s tackling climate change in the meantime.
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Homelessness in New Mexico has risen 48 percent according to a 2023 preliminary report by the Legislative Finance Committee. And while Native Americans made up 11% of the state’s population in 2021 they represented 17% of people experiencing homelessness. Democratic Representative Derrick Lente of Sandia Pueblo highlighted these disparities during a recent LFC committee hearing. He said this is an on-going issue on both urban and Native lands.
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The Legislative Finance Committee held its first interim meeting this week and appointed Charles Sallee as interim director. The committee is extending its search for a permanent director.
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As a top oil and gas producer, New Mexico has some of the strictest emissions rules in the country. That includes a state Environment Department rule that went into effect last year that aims to reduce ozone-causing air pollution by 260 million pounds a year. However, Environment Secretary James Kenney says the agency is falling short on enforcing the rules and is asking the Legislature to help change that.
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Recently the Legislative Finance Committee met to review the progress of spending New Mexico’s share of federal pandemic aid. There are a lot of projects either on-going or in the planning stages and lawmakers want to make sure those projects get funded before access to those federal dollars expires.