Committee gives due‑pass to bill consolidating public safety workforce funding

The House Appropriations and Finance Committee recommended a due pass for House Bill 255, which would consolidate existing public safety workforce funding into one competitive Public Safety Workforce Capacity Building Fund intended to fund recruitment, retention and professional development for law enforcement, firefighting, corrections and public defenders.

Representative Little introduced the bill and said it is revenue neutral and seeks to streamline existing funds into a single targeted program. Henry Valdez (director of legislative affairs at the Department of Finance and Administration) and Steven Weinkopf (DFA local government division) appeared as agency experts.

Several in‑person witnesses spoke in support. Catherine Carroll of New Mexico Counties called the bill “a great bill” for targeting recruitment; Matthew Stackpole of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and Carter Bundy of AFSCME also urged support, pointing to staffing shortages and the need for targeted recruitment and retention funding. Capt. Jake Garcia of the New Mexico State Police testified the bill would allow practical recruitment differentials, relocation assistance and other tools to address staffing gaps.

The committee moved and seconded a motion to give HB255 a due‑pass recommendation; no opposition was recorded and the committee advanced the bill from committee. The transcript records committee scheduling and an adjournment at the end of the meeting.

Next steps: with a committee due‑pass recommendation, the bill will proceed to subsequent House action and any required program design work by administering agencies.