SENATE MEMORIAL 5

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO STUDY NEW APPROACHES TO FAMILY-WORK SUPPORT PROGRAMS.

     WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to pursue the common good so that all families in this state have improved access to economic and educational opportunities that help families achieve self-sufficiency and financial security while reducing the number of families living in poverty; and

     WHEREAS, more and more middle-class families are living paycheck to paycheck, especially in these very difficult economic times; and

     WHEREAS, as of 2012, nearly thirty percent of children in New Mexico live in poverty; and

     WHEREAS, more states are recognizing that reducing poverty is a critical economic development issue that requires strategic, integrated and comprehensive approaches that create opportunities for families to achieve economic success, including creating quality jobs, providing work supports, promoting greater collaboration with the private sector and implementing targeted tax policies; and

     WHEREAS, an assessment of current state policies and practices within the human services department, the public education department, the higher education department, the department of health, the taxation and revenue department, the workforce solutions department and the New Mexico mortgage finance authority could promote economic opportunity and poverty reduction by revealing inconsistencies across agencies that determine eligibility for individuals and families to move up the economic ladder; and

     WHEREAS, working parents who receive a minor increase in income, making them ineligible for various programs that allow them to work, such as child care assistance, transportation, food stamps and free and reduced-fee school lunches, face the "cliff effect" and disincentives for achieving self-sufficiency; and

     WHEREAS, an examination of evidence-based solutions used in other states may reveal significant efforts to reduce poverty as well as to mitigate the cliff effect;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative finance committee be requested to assess the state's current practices that promote economic opportunity and poverty reduction and develop a strategic, integrated and comprehensive plan to mitigate the cliff effect; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in the legislative finance committee's assessment, the committee consult with the human services department, the public education department, the higher education department, the department of health, the taxation and revenue department, the workforce solutions department and the New Mexico mortgage finance authority; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in the legislative finance committee's assessment, the committee consult with recipients, advocates and providers with experience in job support and welfare-to-work programs; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative finance committee evaluate and make recommendations on:

          A. identifying best policies and practices that build family assets and financial stability;

          B. making work pay through the use of fair and sustainable targeted tax policies;

          C. expanding the work force with quality jobs that meet private sector needs;

          D. assessing work support issues, such as child care, transportation, nutrition and housing needs of families;

          E. creating a coordinated effort among state agencies to develop policies on education, health care, housing, income, child care, nutrition and transportation that are consistent and create incentives for self-sufficiency; and

          F. identifying those policies and regulations that conflict with the goal of self-sufficiency; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative finance committee prepare a report, including the above recommendations, and provide the report to the appropriate legislative interim committees by December 2015; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president pro tempore of the senate and to the director of the legislative finance committee.

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