New Mexico
New Mexico again ranks at the bottom for child wellbeing – NM Political Report
New Mexico continues to rank at the bottom of the country for child well-being, with a score of 50th and also at the bottom for childhood education, according to the new KIDS Count Data Book. The Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Book is an annual assessment of child wellbeing state by state. Besides […]
New Mexico continues to rank at the bottom of the country for child well-being, with a score of 50th and also at the bottom for childhood education, according to the new KIDS Count Data Book.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Book is an annual assessment of child wellbeing state by state. Besides overall well-being, the foundation also ranks states on education, health, economic well-being and family and community. This year, the data book also contains information on Adverse Childhood Experiences on a state-by-state basis as well as chronic absences in schools. With 50 percent of New Mexico children experiencing one or more ACE for the 2021-2022 school year, New Mexico tied Mississippi for the highest percentage of children who experience one or more ACEs for the 2021-2022 school year, which is the year the most recent data is available.
New Mexico also had one of the highest rates of chronically absent children from school for the 2021-2022 school year, with 41 percent, which tied the state of Montana. Only Oregon, Alaska, Arizona and the District of Columbia had higher percentages of chronically absent children.
New Mexico Voices for Children noted that New Mexico has improved in its child poverty rate since previous rankings. In this data book, the study found 23 percent of children were living in poverty in 2022. In 2019, the rate was 25 percent.
“Although there’s still work to do, New Mexico’s official child poverty rate continues to improve but change takes time,” said Gabrielle Uballez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children said through a news release. “And this measure of poverty only considers income. When we look instead at the supplemental poverty measure, which measures the impact of some of our best poverty-fighting policies, we see that New Mexico’s investments in families through refundable tax credits and income support programs have a real impact on lowering poverty rates and supporting family well-being.”
The rate of teens in New Mexico who are neither working nor in school has also improved since 2019. As of 2022, the rate was 9 percent. In 2019 it was 11 percent.
But, the state, overall, ranked 48th in the nation for economic wellbeing for children. Only Louisiana and Mississippi ranked below New Mexico.
In recent years the state has enacted policy change in an effort to improve child wellbeing. The state spent 10 years trying to pass legislation that would enable a constitutional amendment to go before voters in 2022 to increase the distribution from the Permanent Land Grant Fund to provide more funding for early childhood education. The state created a department to oversee early childhood education in 2020.
The state has also implemented tax policy in recent years that advocates have said benefits families. But the Uballez said the policy initiatives will require patience in order to see results.
“New Mexico has invested significantly in our children, enhancing early childhood care and education services and introducing the new Child Tax Credit. While these initiatives have a real positive impact on the everyday lives of families today, it will take time for their full impact to be reflected in data. While data and rankings like Kids Count offer insights, they only provide a snapshot in time and don’t tell the whole story. For example, a recent report from the National Institute for Early Education Research showed that during the 2022-2023 school year, New Mexico preschool enrollment increased by 660 children to reach 13,227, and the state met nine out of ten quality standards benchmarks.
“It’s crucial that we continue to support policies such as refundable tax credits, child care assistance, increased funding for education, paid sick leave, universal school meals, and the Opportunity Scholarship. Additionally, we must enact paid family and medical leave, increase the child tax credit for families with young children, ensure a culturally relevant K-12 curriculum, and raise the minimum wage.
“We celebrate New Mexico for our already profound collective investment in kids and families, and urge advocates, lawmakers, and stakeholders to remain patient and confident in the long-term impact of our investments,” Uballez told NM Political Report through an email.
New Mexico ranks 50th for education. The data book found that New Mexico eighth graders not proficient in math has worsened since 2019 when the rate was 79 percent. The rate of eighth graders not proficient in math in 2022 rose to 87 percent.
Fourth graders not proficient in reading also increased from 76 percent in 2019 to 79 percent in 2022.
But, that follows national trends. Across the U.S., 74 percent of eighth graders were not proficient in math in 2022, while in 2019, 67 percent were. Similarly, reading proficiency decreased two percentage points from 2019 to 2022 in the U.S. so that 68 percent of fourth graders in the U.S. are not up to reading proficiency.
The KIDS COUNT Data Book points out that children’s mental health significantly suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic and children did not have access to low-cost and free lunches when they had to engage in online learning during the early portion of the public health emergency. The data book recommended a list of strategies to improve learning and noted that New Mexico incentivized extended instructional time in 2023 by providing funding to districts that adopted longer school calendars. The data book also recommended community schools, because they provide wrap-around services for children and families and serve high-poverty, low-opportunity neighborhoods.
Emily Wildau, KIDS COUNT coordinator for New Mexico Voices for Children, said through the release that “New Mexico’s ranking in the education domain is heavily impacted by national standardized test scores, including fourth grade reading proficiency.”
“Reading proficiency is critical for students to succeed academically and as adults. These scores do not reflect the ability of our children, but rather an education system that is not designed with our multicultural, multilingual students in mind,” Wildau said.
NMVC also said through the release that bottom-ranked states, including New Mexico, tend to have higher populations of children of color, “highlighting that programs and systems are not designed to support them.”
In the health category, New Mexico ranked 44th in the nation, but in the family and community category, the state ranked 49th, with only Mississippi ranked lower.
“New Mexico’s ranking is not a reflection of who we are but serves as a motivation to continue improving the systems in New Mexico that make it possible for kids and families to thrive,” Uballez said through the release.
New Mexico
14 indicted in alleged Permian Basin crude‑oil theft scheme spanning New Mexico and Texas, prosecutors say
A federal grand jury in Lubbock has indicted 14 people accused of stealing crude oil in eastern New Mexico and hauling it into Texas to resell at cut‑rate prices.
Prosecutors say the scheme targeted the Permian Basin’s vast production network, the oil‑rich region spanning southeastern New Mexico and West Texas that covers more than 86,000 square miles and accounts for the majority of U.S. crude oil production.
All 14 defendants are charged with conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines, and several also face counts of interstate transportation and receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Indictment outlines alleged operation
Returned April 8, the indictment alleges the group stole crude oil in eastern New Mexico, some stored on U.S. government-leased land, and resold it to co‑conspirators at prices below the standard U.S. market benchmark.
Prosecutors say the conspirators transported the stolen oil into Texas for resale at a profit, knowing it was stolen.
Texas, New Mexico defendants identified by prosecutors
Texas defendants are James Darrell Reid, 65, and Randell Wayne Reid, 41, owners of Texas-based Reidco Enterprises and both of Electra – about 25 miles northwest of Wichita Falls and 115 miles from Fort Worth – along with Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole, about 80 miles west of Midland.
The remaining 11 defendants are from Lovington, a southeastern New Mexico community of about 11,690 people, roughly 20 miles west of the Texas state line and squarely inside the Permian Basin.
They include:
- Louis George Edgett, 68;
- Brenden Floyd Strickland, 25;
- Sixto Herrera-Estebane, 43;
- Gyardo Gonzalez, 47;
- Jesus Martin Hernandez-Borja, 51;
- Diana Marquez Rojo, 45;
- Jose Luis Rojo, 49;
- Jose Mario Rivas-Mendoza, 37;
- Miguel A. Soto, 41;
- Tavares Montrail Cole, 48; and
- Danny Dale Brown Jr., 42.
Potential penalties outlined by DOJ
According to prosecutors, the defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years per count for interstate transportation, possession, or sale of stolen property.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Division, and sheriff’s offices in Lea and Eddy counties in New Mexico.
CBS News Texas will provide updates as additional information becomes available.
New Mexico
Governor establishes Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council – 13-member council designed to protect ratepayers, modernize the grid – Office of the Governor – Michelle Lujan Grisham
SANTA FE — Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham today signed an executive order establishing the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council to address the rising cost of electricity in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
The Council will convene state agency leaders, utility executives and experts in rural cooperative utilities, tribal energy, consumer advocacy, and energy policy and infrastructure to develop strategies for keeping energy affordable while ensuring the grid can meet the demands of a growing, modernizing New Mexico economy.
“At a time of dramatically rising energy prices, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to protect New Mexico ratepayers while ensuring abundant clean energy supply,” said Governor Lujan Grisham. “The experts I’ve appointed to the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council are well-positioned to make smart, insightful recommendations and I look forward to their findings.”
The Council will evaluate and recommend strategies across four interconnected areas:
- Ratepayer protection: Ensuring that large-load growth — including data centers and onshore manufacturing — does not disproportionately increase costs for residential, rural, tribal and small business customers.
- Grid modernization and reliability: Recommending rate designs and financing strategies that enable prudent infrastructure investment while minimizing long-term rate escalation.
- Clean energy progress: Advancing New Mexico’s net-zero goals under the Energy Transition Act by expanding zero-carbon generation and storage while maintaining affordable access.
- Permitting efficiency: Identifying opportunities to streamline and coordinate state and local permitting for electricity infrastructure — accelerating deployment of clean energy projects without compromising environmental review, tribal consultation, or regulatory safeguards.
The Council will deliver a final report — including legislative, regulatory and administrative recommendations — to the Governor and the Legislature by November 1, 2026.
The Council consists of 13 members representing state government, utilities, rural cooperatives, tribal communities and independent experts:
- Erin Taylor, acting secretary, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
- Rob Black, secretary, Economic Development Department
- Cholla Khoury, chief of staff, Public Regulation Commission
- Lynn Mostoller, executive director, Renewable Energy Transmission Authority
- Sunalei Stewart, deputy commissioner for operations, State Land Office
- Don Tarry, president and CEO, TXNM Energy (PNM)
- Kelly A. Tomblin, president and CEO, El Paso Electric
- Zoe Lees, regional vice president, regulatory policy, Xcel Energy
- Vince Martinez, CEO, New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- Javier Bucobo, vice president of markets and regulatory affairs, Avangrid (grid infrastructure expert)
- Joseph Yar, attorney, Velarde & Yar (consumer/ratepayer advocate)
- Sandra Begay Keeto, retired, Sandia National Laboratories; member, Navajo Nation (tribal energy expert)
- Rep. Meredith Dixon, New Mexico House of Representatives, District 20 (energy policy expert)
The Council is administratively attached to the Department of Finance and Administration. Members will serve without compensation, other than per diem and mileage as permitted by law.
The executive order can be viewed here.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Republican candidate for governor Duke Rodriguez is suing Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham over her executive order that started universal free child care before a new law takes effect.
The governor enacted the program through executive order in November.
Lawmakers passed a universal child care law during the past session, but that law does not take effect until May 20.
Rodriguez says he objects to some of the rules and to how the governor started the program. The suit asks the Second Judicial District Court to prohibit further enforcement of any regulations tied to the program.
“You could understand an outgoing governor trying to do it for political capital, for expediency just to say, I’m first in the nation.” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says he is confident he will win and that the rules he is challenging will be struck down.
“We also now have what we call pre emptive eligibility, which means you don’t even have to prove you’re eligible and you’re covered the moment you walk in,” Rodriguez said. “All of those things individually and collectively that have been proposed and changed probably invite fraud, waste and abuse and you know it.”
The governor’s office responds
The governor’s office sent a statement saying the program was properly implemented and that the governor is confident the lawsuit will be rejected.
A spokesperson for the governor sent KOB 4 the following statement:
“This lawsuit makes clear that Mr. Rodriguez has a fundamental misunderstanding how state government works. He states that ECECD did not have the authority to undergo rulemaking regarding universal childcare. They do. He states that ECECD did not have the funding to implement the program when they did their rulemaking. They did. That is why the program was operational in December – before the 2026 Legislative session started. Perhaps more importantly, the lawsuit ignores that the legislature passed SB 241, which codified the program and its future funding into law. The governor is confident that the courts will reject his meritless claims.“
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