Hundreds of millions of dollars will be headed into the wallets of New Mexicans after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) signed House Bill 2 into law on April 8 after a special legislative session. The money is intended to help alleviate some of the burden caused by rising inflation and the higher cost of daily essentials.
"Today, I am glad to enact legislation easing the burden of high national prices, putting money in New Mexicans' pockets and protecting their paychecks," Grisham said in a press release. "I thank the legislature for acting quickly and answering my call to deliver economic relief ... that we enacted earlier this year to deliver up to $1,500 in household relief to over a million New Mexicans."
The relief will come in the form of two direct payments to each citizen – $500 for single tax filers and $1,000 for joint filers – according to the press release. The payments will be delivered in June and August. The state allocated $698 million in total to cover the cost of the payments.
Under the bill, $20 million was also set aside to provide payments to senior citizens, lower-income families, and other New Mexicans who do not file taxes, the release noted.
The relief money is coming from a large profit the state is receiving from New Mexico's gas tax, due to higher gas prices. New Mexico is sending the money it receives back to taxpayers.