Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR
Reps. Dixon, Anyanonu, and Parajón/Sen.
Padilla
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2
/25/2025
SHORT TITLE Office of Housing Planning & Production
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 448/ec
ANALYST Hilla
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
DFA $86.2 $258.5 $258.5 $603.2 Re curring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Relates to Senate Bill 190, Duplicates Senate Bill 205
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
Governor’s Office of Housing (GOH)
New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (NMFA)
Indian Affairs Department (IAD)
Economic Development Department (EDD)
Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 448
House Bill 448 (HB448) creates the Office of Housing Planning and Production,
administratively attached to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA). The purpose
of the Office of Housing Planning and Production is to reduce housing costs, increase statewide
housing availability, maximize resources to address statewide housing need, address underlying
factors that impact housing costs, grow local programs and capacity to address needs and further
fair housing, identify state resources for housing, and track housing progress through goal setting
and data. The Office of Housing Planning and Production would:
- Develop a statewide strategy to build collaborative partnerships among state agencies and
local stakeholders in addressing housing and homelessness, aligning programs and
identifying resources;
- Provide technical assistance to local governments, Indian nations, tribes, and pueblos,
and regional entities to improve housing regulation, further fair housing, increase housing
development capacity and housing funding, grow local and statewide capacity for House Bill 448/ec – Page 2
homelessness service and prevention, and promote public-private housing partnerships;
- Align resources across state agencies and the private sector to identify new programs to
increase capacity in housing finance and housing development and to grow the
construction and trades workforces;
- Address underlying factors that impact housing costs and availability, regardless of
income;
- Collect and report housing and land use data and outcomes at least annually to the
Legislative Finance Committee;
- Collect and report data at least annually to describe and monitor the housing market in
regions of the state and statewide and establish housing production goals across all
income levels;
- Evaluate housing data to identify geographic gaps in housing availability; and
- Provide support to state agencies undertaking housing and housing-adjacent activities in
nonduplicative duties.
This bill contains an emergency clause and would become effective immediately on signature by
the governor.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
DFA states implementing HB448 would require 2 FTE at a total estimated cost of $258.5
thousand. DFA states, because since the Local Government Division receives significant funding
in general, including housing appropriations, 2 FTE would help with the administrative functions
of the Office of Housing. The LFC recommendation supports an increase in personnel of $150
thousand in general fund revenue for FY26 for the Local Government Division in DFA’s
operating budget, which could be used toward hiring one of the 2 FTE needed should HB448
pass. The fiscal impact notes a reduced impact for FY25. LFC data indicates the Local
Government Division has an estimated funded vacancy of $493.1 thousand for FY25, which
could be used to address immediate personnel needs should HB448 pass.
There is a $2 million government results and opportunities (GRO) appropriation from the
General Appropriation Act of 2024 for housing assistance personnel and programs for
expenditure through FY26 that could be used for the creation of the Office of Housing. At the
time of analysis, this appropriation has a balance of $1.8 million. The House version of the
General Appropriation Act contains a $2 million special nonrecurring appropriation for housing
personnel and programs, which can be utilized should this bill pass, in addition to the GRO
balance appropriated last year.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
In 2024, the governor created the Office of Housing. HB448 would administratively attach this
office to DFA. DFA’s Local Government Division currently works with local governments to
address housing; administratively attaching the current Office of Housing to DFA as the Office
of Housing Planning and Production would allow for better outreach to local governments when
addressing underlying factors contributing to homelessness. This could reduce the Local
Government Division’s administrative burden as the division would be able to focus on other
appropriations while the proposed Office of Housing Planning and Production focuses
specifically on housing. For example, DFA was appropriated $389 million in nonrecurring one- House Bill 448/ec – Page 3
time special appropriations alone for FY25, which most of that amount flowing through the
Local Government Division. In addition, the Local Government Division is tasked to oversee the
$31.8 million in GRO-D (also referred as “junior money”) from FY25.
The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) states that the state’s homelessness
population increased by 51 percent between 2018 to 2023, with average rent and home sale
prices increasing as well. MFA states that, should the office be successful in identifying and
addressing underlying factors impacting housing costs, the state should see a decrease in
regulatory barriers and an increase in supply, stabilizing affordable housing levels.
The Office of Housing notes similar issues as MFA. The increase in the cost of construction and
high interest rates have resulted in affordable homes requiring more subsidies than previous
years. The Office of Housing states there are significant systemic issues driving housing costs,
and should HB448 pass, the proposed Office of Housing Planning and Production could help
New Mexico residents obtain equitable access to housing, regardless of income level, by
addressing larger needs of the state regarding housing and homelessness.
MFA raises concerns that the proposed Office of Housing Planning and Production may
duplicate some of MFA’s existing programs. However, MFA also notes that the proposed Office
of Housing Planning and Production will focus on larger system issues impacting housing
affordability and would not duplicate current MFA housing efforts.
The Indian Affairs Department (IAD) notes that Native American populations in the state face
various housing-related challenges, such as undercounting in federal data, limited access to
remote areas, and resource limitations within tribal communities. IAD notes HB448 addresses
data collection, which will help inform funding decisions and allow for more accurate data
collection among tribal communities.
Attaching the current Office of Housing to DFA could allow for more grants to be distributed out
to local governments for housing, which could potentially reduce the likelihood of reverting or
reauthorizing appropriations relating to housing due to more administrative oversight.
The Governor’s Office of Housing states that the technical housing capacity created by HB448
could have performance benefits for other state agencies with housing or housing-adjacent
programs by ensuring effective and efficient program design and ongoing technical support from
the proposed Office of Housing Planning and Production.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
DFA and the proposed Office of Housing Planning and Production would have to identify
existing housing efforts at state agencies and determine how to avoid duplicating these efforts; a
new tool may be needed to identify existing state housing and homelessness efforts.
House Bill 448/ec – Page 4
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
HB448 relates to Senate Bill 190 (SB190), which creates the Homelessness Reduction Division
at the Health Care Authority (HCA). The division’s goals are to reduce homelessness and
unnecessary institutionalization in the state and create a “homeless data integration system” that
shall collect local data through homeless management information systems. Should both HB448
and SB190 pass, both the Office of Housing Planning and Production and the Homeless
Reduction Division at the HCA would need to work together to reduce duplicative homelessness
reduction efforts. However, the Office of Housing states that the new HCA division would not
address the larger housing issues that ultimately drive the growth in the state’s homeless
population, meaning there may not be any duplication should both bills pass.
OTHER SUBSTANT IVE ISSUES
The Legislature previously allocated funding to DFA to administer a fund transfer to MFA’s
New Mexico housing trust fund. While MFA notes the proposed Office of Housing Planning and
Production does not intend to duplicate the project-based funding activities of MFA, the
Legislature should be alert to appropriating future funds to the proposed Office of Housing
Planning and Production without conflicting with already existing processes for addressing
housing and homelessness, like fund transfers into the New Mexico housing trust fund.
EH/hj/hg