Legislative Tracking & Priorities
2026 Session
Throughout the legislative session, Housing New Mexico tracks housing-related legislation and monitors the bill from introduction, through committee hearings, to floor votes, and enactment or veto.
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Housing New Mexico’s 2026 Legislative Priorities
New Mexico Housing Trust Fund – $135 Million
The New Mexico Housing Trust Fund (NMHTF) was established in 2005 by the legislature to fund the acquisition, building, rehabilitation, preservation, and financing opportunities to address the affordable housing needs of low- and moderate-income New Mexicans. Nearly one in three New Mexican families have at least one housing problem, including severe housing cost burden, unsafe housing conditions, and/or overcrowding. Housing New Mexico | MFA, as the Trustee of the NMHTF, has established programs and partnerships to deploy NMHTF funds to meet the continuum of housing needs by building rental and homeownership housing, supplying down payment assistance, rehabilitating aging housing stock, funding homelessness services and prevention, and investing in innovative affordable housing projects.
Impact
$135 million would allow Housing New Mexico and its partners to serve an estimated 5,200 New Mexicans across the continuum of housing need and throughout the state, based on the approximate cost of various programs and anticipated funding from severance tax bonds and program income.
| Impact Area | Investment Cost | Unit | Households Impacted | Total Investment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Down Payment Assistance* | $10,000 | per borrower | 2,000 | $20,000,000 |
| Rental Housing Development* | $50,000 | per unit | 1,400 | $70,000,000 |
| Single Family Housing Development* | $150,000 | per unit | 500 | $75,000,000 |
| Home Rehabilitation and Preservation for Veterans, Seniors, Disabled People, and other Special Populations | $25,000 | per unit | 200 | $5,000,000 |
| Homeless and Homelessness Prevention – Permanent Supportive Housing | $50,000 | per unit | 100 | $5,000,000 |
| Homeless Services and Prevention | $6,000 | per household | 1,000 | $6,000,000 |
| Total NMHTF Demand | 5,200 | $181,000,000 | ||
| Estimated Severance Tax Bond Allocation to the NMHTF | $45,000,000 | |||
| Estimated Program Income Earned by the NMHTF | $1,700,000 | |||
| Funding Gap | $134,300,000 | |||
| *Funding for these uses is typically issued as a loan and generates program income. | ||||
Leverage
Housing New Mexico maximizes the NMHTF investment by leveraging private and federal funding. On average across programs, for each $1 of NMHTF investment, Housing New Mexico leverages $12 in other funding. This 12:1 leverage ratio far exceeds the statutory requirement of 3:1.
Performance Metrics
Of the $167 million in allocations to the NMHTF since July 2023, 100% is encumbered (designated for use), 85% is awarded (contractually committed), and 45% is expended, as of December 31, 2025. When funding is awarded, affordable housing projects and programs can begin development and implementation. Expenditure will then follow on a reimbursement basis.
With the $140 million of the NMHTF that Housing New Mexico has awarded, 8,252 families have been impacted.
Urgent Need
Despite affordable housing crises nationwide, funding across the federal government for housing – from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to Department of Energy to Department of the Treasury – is at risk of cuts. State investment is critical to not only improve the landscape of opportunity, but to prevent worsening conditions.
Affordable Housing Act – $500,000
The Affordable Housing Act (AHA) was signed into law in 2004 to permit the state and local governments to contribute public funds, land, buildings and other resources to affordable housing development and programs. Like the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA), AHA donations are exempt from the state’s Anti-Donation clause. Housing New Mexico is charged with rulemaking authority and oversight of the AHA but receives no funds for these purposes. To date, Housing New Mexico has assisted 40 local governments achieve AHA compliance, which has resulted in $117.9 million in local government donations to affordable housing.
Impact
The priority for this funding is to help local governments implement approved housing plans and ordinances, paving the way for communities to increase housing stock and deploy housing solutions that meet local needs. This appropriation will enable Housing New Mexico to:
- Fund and provide direct technical assistance to local governments in developing affordable housing programs or updating land use policy to promote development;
- Offer planning and pre-development grants to local governments seeking to develop affordable housing;
- Oversee the Affordable Housing Act, including assistance with development and review of required plans and ordinances.
Performance Metrics
In 2019 Housing New Mexico received $232,000 for AHA oversight and implementation. With this funding, Housing New Mexico funded affordable housing plans for nine local governments (some plans were joint municipal-county plans). The cost of these plans informed the investment cost assumption in the table below. With $500,000, Housing New Mexico expects it could support up to 34 local governments.
| Use of Investment | Investment Cost | Number of Local Governments Assisted | Total Investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Fund and provide direct technical assistance to local governments in developing affordable housing programs or updating land use policy to promote development. | $50,000 per local government | 4 | $200,000 |
| 2) Offer planning and pre-development grants to local governments seeking to develop affordable housing. | $25,000 per local government | 10 | $250,000 |
| 3) Oversee the Affordable Housing Act, including assistance with development and review of required plans and ordinances. | $2,500 per local government | 20 | $50,000 |
| Total | 34 | $500,000 | |
Urgent Need
Local governments across the state realize the need – and value – of investing in affordable housing. However, many local governments are not yet able to make donations to affordable housing, and thus attract developers, because they have yet to draft, and secure approval, of an AHA required plan and ordinance. In other cases, AHA compliant local governments need pre-development funding or support for land use modernization to spur housing development. This appropriation will be used to respond directly to those needs.