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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 6
57
TH LEGISLATURE
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
FIRST SESSION
, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Michael Padilla
A JOINT RESOLUTION
PROPOSING TO ADD A NEW SECTION 23 OF ARTICLE 20 OF THE
CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO TO CREATE THE EARLY CHILDHOOD TRUST
FUND TO BE USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR PRENATAL AND EARLY CHILDHOOD
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, EXCEPT WHEN STATE FUNDS WILL NOT MEET
PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED EXPENSES.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. It is proposed to amend Article 20 of the
constitution of New Mexico by adding a new Section 23 to read:
"A. The "early childhood trust fund" is created as
a permanent trust fund in the state treasury. Money in the
fund shall be invested as provided by law for prenatal programs
and services and for early childhood programs and services for
children until they are eligible for kindergarten, and money
distributed from the fund shall only be used for those programs
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and services, expenses of administering those programs and
services and as provided in Subsection D of this section.
B. All additions to the fund and all earnings,
including realized and unrealized gains and losses from
investment of the fund, shall be credited to the corpus of the
fund.
C. As provided by law, an annual distribution shall
be made in an amount equal to the greater of five percent of
the average of the year-end market values of the fund for the
immediately preceding three calendar years or five hundred
million dollars ($500,000,000).
D. Money in the fund may be expended in the event
of a failure in revenue where state fund balances, as provided
by law, will not meet the level of appropriations authorized
for the current fiscal year. In that event, to avoid a
deficit, the legislature may appropriate from the fund only in
the amount necessary to meet the appropriations for that fiscal
year and only if the legislature has authorized transfers from
the state fund balances that exhaust those fund balances."
SECTION 2. The amendment proposed by this resolution
shall be submitted to the people for their approval or
rejection at the next general election or at any special
election prior to that date that may be called for that
purpose.
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