45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

REQUESTING THE WELFARE REFORM OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO GATHER INFORMATION AND DEVELOP LEGISLATION CREATING A PROGRAM THAT SUBSIDIZES VEHICLE INSURANCE COSTS FOR INDIGENT PEOPLE, INCLUDING TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILY PARTICIPANTS AND WELFARE-TO-WORK CLIENTS IN NEW MEXICO.

WHEREAS, the focus of the New Mexico Works Act and federal welfare reform changes is to enable participants of temporary assistance for needy families to develop job skills and to find employment that is full time, pays well and provides them with a promising future; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has also adopted the Workforce Investment Act, and the state has created workforce development boards that are seeking to provide training for low-income and jobless individuals; and

WHEREAS, lack of transportation is one of the major barriers that must be overcome so that people can be reliable employees; and

WHEREAS, in many areas of New Mexico there is and can be no public transportation; and

WHEREAS, vanpools and other attempts to provide transportation to a group of people can work in many situations, but in rural areas where there are great distances between homes, or in situations where a worker must work unconventional shifts, it is more reasonable to help people afford a family vehicle; and

WHEREAS, the cost of purchasing a vehicle may be too much for a newly employed person, but even if the person has a vehicle, it is possible that the person cannot or does not maintain required insurance on the vehicle due to the cost of insurance; and

WHEREAS, many states have regional or statewide programs that cover the costs of motor vehicle insurance;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the welfare reform oversight committee be requested to gather information on the car insurance programs in other states and to develop legislation to present to the second session of the forty-fifth legislature that will provide a motor vehicle insurance subsidy program for people who meet the income eligibility standards for temporary assistance to needy families or who are newly employed through welfare-to-work or workforce investment programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico legislative council and the chair of the welfare reform oversight committee.