A move to secure state funding for the construction of a school of public health at the main campus of the University of New Mexico may be taken by state lawmakers when the legislature meets next month.
Lawmakers could well weigh a bill earlier introduced delegating around $50 million for the new school, which would be a part of the UNM’s Health Sciences Center.
The funding will ultimately come out of the $1.1 billion America Rescue Plan Act money sent from Washington to New Mexico.
As proposed by Senators Joseph Cervantes, Martin Hickey, and Gerald Ortiz y Pino, the legislation also asks for $40 million to pay for new equipment at the UNM Cancer Center, $100 million for the expansion of behavioral health services; and $10 million for prenatal care services, among other projects.
The American Rescue Plan Act specifically included $350 billion in Covid-19 relief funding to states, tribes, and localities, with New Mexico receiving a total of $1.7 billion.
The act also stipulated that such funding must be used by the end of the calendar year 2024.
According to a fiscal impact report prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee the proposed legislation would also include operational costs for the new public health school, but only to the end of fiscal year 2025.
The New Mexico State Legislature begins its winter session on January 18.
By Garry Boulard
