Legislative Finance Committee

New Mexico has more restrictive reopening standards than most states and has taken a harder economic hit since the start of the pandemic than the nation as a whole, but addressing root health concerns and targeting employment assistance could better assist a recovery than ordering businesses to reopen.
Health and Economy During COVID-19

Revenues to the state from gaming activity are expected to be 70 percent of normal for FY21, and racetrack operators are asking for changes to gaming law, including allowing drinking while gaming and reducing state oversight, likely to reduce state revenues further.

Remote and hybrid learning will likely exacerbate the achievement gap for at-risk students and present extra costs to districts for lower quality instruction, but extended learning time programs could help mitigate learning loss in the long-term.

Over the five-year demonstration period for Centennial Care, the Medicaid managed-care program that provides health coverage to almost one in three New Mexicans, costs per member were fairly stable, an indication the program did not meet its goals for saving money.
Progress Report - Centennial Care Slides

A trifurcated approach for providing health insurance for public school and certain government employees means total costs vary by thousands of dollars per policy and some workers pay twice as much as others for similar coverage.

The executive appears to have awarded pandemic-related grants to local governments as a share of their requests, rather than based on population or Covid-19 cases, with Santa Fe receiving $46 thousand per case and Gallup receiving $2,000 per case.

Apparently propped up by federal spending, the 2020 fiscal year ended stronger than expected, but unknowns about future federal support, the path of the virus and a vaccine, and oil and natural gas prices make revenue for FY21 and FY22 hard to forecast.

General fund recurring revenues for FY20 through May were $6.9 billion, down $297 million, or 4.1 percent, from the same period a year ago. Gross receipts tax collections were down 5.2 percent from May of last year, and personal income tax collections were down 15.5 percent. However, excluding direct oil and gas revenues, general fund recurring revenue collections for FY20 through May were up 1 percent from the same period last year.