State Legislative Preview from Lutheran Advocacy Ministry

The 2012 session of the New Mexico state legislature begins at noon on Tuesday, January 17.

This session will be a "short" session that focuses primarily on budget issues although the governor is expected to include other issues. Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM will continue to advocate for funding of programs and public policies that help to improve the lives of our neighbors living in poverty.

Our 2012 Advocacy Agenda includes Affordable Housing, Hunger, Family-Sustaining Income, Health Care, Tax Policy and Immigration. The state budget has been cut by about 20% over the last few years. Those cuts have included cuts to vital programs that impact low-income New Mexicans.

The revenue forecast for the upcoming fiscal year is improved over recent years which helps the outlook for the state budget. We will be sending you Advocacy Alerts during the session and hope that you will take action in response to those alerts. You can find information about the legislature on its website.

-Ruth Hoffman

Director

LAM-NM