Governor signs bills to spur housing and infrastructure development

Feb. 28—Zachary Padilla has a great job, a master's degree in social work and a family who's thrilled he's back in New Mexico after a stint in Tennessee.

But the 28-year-old still can't find a home he can afford to buy, said his father, state Sen. Michael Padilla, an Albuquerque Democrat.

Touting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's signing of a bill that aims to spur housing development in New Mexico, Sen. Padilla said Wednesday his son's experience is far from unique.

"It's a real good example of where this [housing issue] is right now for real New Mexicans," Padilla told The New Mexican.

House Bill 195 was one of three infrastructure and housing measures Lujan Grisham signed into law Wednesday. They were the first bills she's signed since the legislative session ended earlier this month.

The measure, co-sponsored by Padilla and Reps. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe; Meredith Dixon, D-Albuquerque; and Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, expands the Opportunity Enterprise Revolving Fund to make loans to finance workforce and affordable housing projects.

New Mexico has struggled with a lack of housing for years, especially for low-income people. The Legislative Finance Committee last year reported the state is short about 32,000 affordable housing units, while about 40,000 are "substandard," lacking complete kitchens or plumbing.

Serrato said the new law could make a huge difference to younger New Mexicans who, like many of their generation across the country, are "losing housing as a reality." She referenced the southern part of the state in particular as a region where people work at New Mexico jobs but commute home to Texas at the end of the day.

HB 195 "allows communities to incentivize builders and developers to create those homes right where the worksites are and get New Mexicans back to work where they are at home," Serrato said.

Lujan Grisham said she's hoping to see developers take advantage of the fund sooner rather than later.

"I'm hoping ... we can be ribbon cutting or ground breaking as early as the fall when folks are clear that this money's in the mix for leveraging," she said. "... We do need tens of thousands of houses, and we needed them last year and the year before."

Lujan Grisham also signed two other infrastructure bills Wednesday.

House Bill 177 will establish the New Mexico Match Funds to help draw federal money for infrastructure, water and clean energy projects. This year's state budget includes $75 million for the fund.

The governor said the fund will give New Mexico communities much more leverage to get major projects funded and done using funding streams that require a local match.

"If you don't have the matching funds, we leave federal dollars on the table," Lujan Grisham said.

The governor also signed House Bill 232, which creates a new division for infrastructure planning and development under the Department of Finance and Administration.

Of more than 70 bills passed by legislators, the governor had only signed four into law before Wednesday's event.

Lujan Grisham didn't directly address Wednesday whether she plans to follow through on calling lawmakers back to Santa Fe for a special session around public safety — a possibility she has speculated on recently.

But she did reiterate she is disappointed lawmakers didn't take up her call for action on issues like panhandling, shoplifting, homelessness and a "criminal competency bill" to require offenders with substance abuse or mental or behavioral health conditions to receive treatment. She even raised the possibility of a "civil competency" process, although she didn't elaborate.

Lujan Grisham urged New Mexico communities to address those issues on a local level in the coming months.

"Local jurisdictions can do more," she said. "They can't change the criminal codes and the judicial review, but they can do more in terms of their own ordinances and they can do more for patrolling."