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New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham joined a group of children, parents and educators at a Santa Fe preschool Tuesday morning to sign her free, universal child care initiative into law.

鈥淚 really wanted something that would create a sea change for families and children in New Mexico,鈥� Lujan Grisham said before signing the bill. 鈥淪enate Bill 241 is the culmination of decades of leadership of the Legislature and eight years of good leadership by a short little governor and, most importantly, the dedication of the people in the child care industry and the parents and the families.鈥�

After the bill signing, she told reporters she believed that free childcare will ameliorate New Mexico鈥檚 with child well-being. The state routinely ranks 50th for child well-being in the national Kids Count report published by the nonpartisan Annie E. Casey Foundation. Since November, Lujan Grisham said more than 16,000 new children have enrolled in free child care 鈥� and more than half of them were already eligible to receive free child care under the state鈥檚 previous requirements.

鈥淎ll of these families struggled for no reason,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is maybe the most monumental, pivotal day in New Mexico鈥檚 past, its current and the opportunities for its future. We couldn鈥檛 be prouder.鈥�

The ranked with and as one of the Legislature鈥檚 top priorities in the recent 30-day session. Initial proposals from members of the state House of Representatives would have required co-pays from some New Mexico families to participate, but the bill Lujan Grisham signed into law Tuesday will only require co-pays from families with a household income of than 600% of the federal poverty level under certain signs of economic decline, such as inflation and decreasing oil prices.

A recent from the state Legislative Finance Committee found a slight decrease in the state鈥檚 general fund revenue. 鈥淢ajor鈥� changes in oil and gas revenue would affect the Early Childhood Trust Fund and other similar state funds. The new law allows the state to take up to $700 million from the $11 billion Early Childhood Education and Care Trust Fund to pay for universal child care over the next five years. State leaders created that fund in 2020 with about $300 million.

Lujan Grisham praised Lt. Gov. Howie Morales for prioritizing this issue when he was a state senator and for refusing to let it go when he joined her administration.

鈥淲hen I received the phone call back in November鈥�saying we鈥檙e going to move forward with this and that the governor has made sure that we鈥檙e going to implement this coming Nov. 1, I got emotional,鈥� Morales said to the crowd gathered at Tuesday鈥檚 bill signing. 鈥淚 remember sitting there, talking to you as the governor and saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 think this is a fight we can win,鈥� and the governor turning to me and saying, 鈥楽ome fights are worth fighting, even if you lose.鈥欌��

Lujan Grisham also signed into law, which will ease zoning restrictions on regulated child care homes in residential areas. From inside the 鈥淥wl Classroom鈥� at Garcia Street Club School, a decades-old preschool in the middle of a Santa Fe neighborhood, she said she hoped to knock down barriers to where child care facilities can go.

鈥淚f we can do this since 1945, we can do more,鈥� she said, referencing the school鈥檚 origination date. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly what we want 鈥� home, historic environments as well as brand new facilities. We want a hybrid and a mix all throughout the state.鈥�

She said she believes the two laws, taken together, can make New Mexico a replicable model for how the rest of the nation tackles issues of child well-being.

鈥淭his really, truly can be a state in America that solves this problem,鈥� Lujan Grisham said. 鈥淲hen a poor state 鈥� in terms of our stats, not our money 鈥� solves it for America, America will redesign and reshape how we treat our families, and that鈥檚 a long time coming.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: [email protected].

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