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 Stewart
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/3/2025
SHORT TITLE Community Benefit Fund Transfers
BILL
NUMBER Senate Bill 49
ANALYST Hilla
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
Entity FY26
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected Economic Development
Department
$40,000.0 Nonrecurring Community Benefit Fund
Community Energy Efficiency
Development Block Grant Fund
$20,000.0 Nonrecurring Community Benefit Fund
Grid Modernization Fund $100,000.0 Nonrecurring Community Benefit Fund
Transportation Project Fund $50,000.0 N onrecurring Community Benefit Fund
State Supplemental Land and
Water Conservation Fund
$5,000.0 Nonrecurring Community Benefit Fund
Energy, Minerals. And Natural
Resources Department
$40,000.0 Nonrecurring Community Benefit Fund
Workforce Solutions
Department
$25,000.0 Nonrecurring Community Benefit Fund
Public School Facilities
Authority
$60,000.0 Nonrecurring Community Benefit Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
EDD
No fiscal
impact
$100.0 $100.0 $200.0 Recurring General Fund
DFA
No fiscal
impact
$100.0 $100.0 $200.0 Recurring General Fund
Total
No fiscal
impact
$200.0 $200.0 $400.0 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Relates to Senate Bill 48 creating the community benefit fund.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA) Senate Bill 49 – Page 2
Economic Development Department (EDD)
Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)
Public Regulation Commission (PRC)
Workforce Solutions Department (WSD)
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Department of Transportation (DOT)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate Bill 49
Senate Bill 49 (SB49) appropriates $340 million from the community benefit fund.
Appropriations include:
$40 million to the Economic Development Department (EDD) to assist in diversifying
and promoting the state’s economy by fostering economic development opportunities
unrelated to fossil fuel development or use, such as aerospace, cybersecurity, biosciences,
film and television, etc., for expenditure from FY26 through FY28;
$20 million to the community energy efficiency development block grant fund at the
Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD);
$100 million to the grid modernization grant fund at EMNRD;
$50 million to the transportation project fund at the Department of Transportation (DOT)
for transportation-related projects that reduce the use of combustion engine vehicles,
including bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and pedestrian safety;
$5 million to the state supplemental land and water conservation fund for purposes of the
Outdoor Recreation Act at EMNRD for expenditure in FY26 through FY28;
$40 million to EMNRD to provide competitive grants to develop or enhance energy
efficiency technology, renewable energy technology, batteries, and other systems capable
of retaining, storing, and delivering energy by chemical, thermal, mechanical or other
means and any interconnection equipment required to interconnect these systems with the
electric grid, for expenditure in FY26 through FY28;
$25 million to the Workforce Solutions Department (WSD) to collaborate with the
Higher Education Department (HED) to provide training in non-extractive industries, for
expenditure in FY26 through FY28;
$60 million to the Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA) for electrical vehicle
charging infrastructure for school districts and the difference in cost between upgrading
from diesel-fueled school buses to electric school buses, for expenditure FY26 through
FY28.
For appropriations with specific expenditure dates, any unexpended or unencumbered balances at
the end of FY28 shall revert to the community benefit fund.
SB49 is contingent on the passage of the community benefit fund in Senate Bill 48 (SB48).
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
Senate Bill 49 – Page 3
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $340 million contained in this bill is a nonrecurring expense to the
community benefit fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of
FY28 shall revert to the community benefit fund for appropriations made to EMNRD, EDD,
WSD, PSFA, and the state supplemental land and water conservation fund. Appropriations made
to the grid modernization grant fund and the transportation project fund will not revert.
EDD states that it will need to increase its operating budget to administer the appropriation in
SB49. However, this would create a full-time position for a nonrecurring appropriation item, so
if funding from SB49 could also be used for administrative expenses, agencies like EDD would
not need new recurring funding to its operating budget to create full-time positions for one-time
appropriations. The analysis in this fiscal impact report assumes that SB49 does not cover
administrative expenses and thus requires agencies like EDD to increase hiring levels. Similar
administrative cost concerns were also noted by the Department of Finance and Administration
(DFA) and are included in this fiscal analysis.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Executive and LFC both recommended an $8 million nonrecurring special appropriation
from the general fund to the state supplemental land and water conversation fund (SSLWCF) at
EMNRD to provide matches for federal funds. The $5 million appropriation from the community
benefit fund to the SSLWCF is duplicative of the $8 million appropriation currently in House
Bill 2. Due to this duplication, EMNRD asks for the $5 million currently in SB49 to be
repurposed for housing for firefighters. However, should SB49 repurpose the $5 million
appropriation to SSLWCF for firefighter housing, that could become a recurring cost, and
EMNRD would need to find other sources of funding to cover the recurring costs of housing
outside of the community benefit fund.
EMNRD states that the community energy efficiency development (CEED) block grant fund has
not been adequately funded to meet the demand of providing grants to low-income and “frontline
communities to purchase products aimed at increasing energy efficiency in homes to decrease
their energy burdens.” The department states this appropriation would address unmet needs.
PSFA states that the total cost of ownership of electric vehicle charging infrastructure will vary
across school districts. PSFA states without knowing how many school districts would move
their school bus fleets from diesel to electric, the agency cannot determine if the $60 million
appropriations are sufficient considering the total cost of ownership. Additionally, PSFA states
that the Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) adopted its Commercial Energy Code and
included requirements for electric vehicle charging stations for passenger vehicles, which
required schools to provide 5 percent of the required parking spots with electric vehicle charging
stations with another 5 percent for future stations but did not include bus charging stations. PSFA
states current estimates show a 40 percent increase in electrical costs to install infrastructure and
devices required for electric vehicle charging for buses.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
WSD states that Executive Order 2024-152 requires state agencies to collaborate on developing
the workforce for “climate-ready” professions by the end of 2026. The department states that Senate Bill 49 – Page 4
climate-related workforce training is part of its 2024-2027 Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA) plan. The LFC program evaluations, Workforce Development Post
Covid-19 Pandemic and Improving New Mexico’s Workforce Participation, highlight the
fragmentation and duplication of services that persist across the state’s workforce programs and
raise concerns about the implementation of workforce programs under WIOA. In particular, the
latter report elucidates the difficulties many higher education students currently face in accessing
WIOA Title I services. This evaluation recommended WSD continue its current work in
developing an aligned case management system that will allow all New Mexicans, including
higher education students, to more easily access federal and state programs related to workforce
training and wraparound supports. The success of this part of SB49 is partially contingent on
continuing coordination efforts and the buy-in of the local workforce development boards, which
oversee the Title I application process.
In 2024, the Legislature appropriated $60 million to the Higher Education Department from the
government results and opportunity (GRO) fund to be spent over three years to support noncredit
workforce training programs at higher education institutions. Aligned with the accountability
stipulations of the GRO fund, HED is collecting enrollment and outcomes data from the state’s
higher education institutions. A 2024 LFC program evaluation, Postsecondary Certificates,
found that while some workforce training pays off for students in the form of increased salary
and career opportunities, not all training leads to substantive gains. The climate-related
workforce training funding appropriated in SB49 would potentially build on existing GRO
funding, but does not contain the same reporting or accountability requirements as the GRO.
PSFA states the Public-School Capital Outlay Committee (PSCOC) will need to develop a new
funding program to track and administer these funds and will require additional PSFA staff with
electric vehicle expertise.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
SB49 is the companion bill of SB48, which creates the community benefit fund. SB49 is
contingent on the passage of SB48.
OTHER SUBSTANT IVE ISSUES
SB48 outlines that the community benefit fund can be used for projects that reduce the use of
combustion engine vehicles through transportation projects, including projects that increase
electric vehicle infrastructure or bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. In 67-3-78 (A) NMSA
1978, the Department of Transportation can establish a subaccount of the transportation project
fund to ensure SB49’s $50 million appropriation for the fund matches SB48 and SB49’s
transportation project intentions.
DFA states that SB49’s funding would allow the WSD to continue providing job training for
cybersecurity and information technology initiatives with the Department of Information
Technology.
EH/rl/SR