Workers, Organizations Support Community Benefits Fund Proposal at Legislature

The New Mexico Senate Conservation Committee passed Senate Bills 48 and 49, critical pieces of legislation that would establish and guide the distribution of a Community Benefit Fund (CBF). The bills were strongly supported by the EmPower NM coalition, a coalition made up of Somos Acción, Organizing in the Land of Enchantment (OLÉ), NM Comunidades en Acción y de Fe (NM CAFé), and the Center for Civic Policy (CCP). The Community Benefits Fund represents a transformative investment in the state’s economic diversification and workforce development in green energy jobs.

The EmPower NM coalition supports SB 48 and SB 49 because they represent a bold step toward a sustainable and resilient economy that prioritizes job creation, workforce development, and centers the needs of workers in overburdened communities. These bills would:

• Create thousands of jobs in fields such as construction, energy auditing, engineering, outdoor recreation, and public transportation.
• Support workforce training and education through apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and other job training programs designed to help workers—particularly those in extractive industries—transition into sustainable careers.
• Promote economic development by investing in emerging industries, small businesses, and essential services such as childcare, while also improving air and water quality for New Mexico’s communities.

SB 48 and 49 would allocate $25 million to establish or expand worker training

activities to provide workers for industries that assist in achieving the objectives of: reducing greenhouse gas; promoting grid modernization; increasing renewable energy resources; among others.

As these bills move through the legislative process, EmPower NM urges lawmakers to recognize the immense benefits they offer to New Mexicans across the state. By investing in clean energy, workforce development, and economic diversification, New Mexico can lead the way toward a more sustainable and prosperous future.

Olga Grays, an OLÉ member from Las Cruces, said, “We need to make sure that Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities have access to the training and good jobs that the renewable energy industry is creating in New Mexico, and this legislation will ensure that we do.”

“SBs 48 and 49 will provide vital investments in our communities to build diverse, healthy economies. They will also contribute to building the workforce we need for high demand jobs now and in the future,” said Michael Leon Guerrero from the Center for Civil Policy.

“In order to meet New Mexico’s ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction and economic diversification goals, the state must build a more robust workforce. This requires deep investments in job training programs and wraparound support services  for “hard to reach” and disadvantaged workers who want to build their skills and enter emerging green industries. The proposed Community Benefits Fund is a step in the right direction. We support targeted funding to the Department of Workforce Solutions, as well as the Higher Education Department’s Adult Education Division which provides crucial onramps to more traditional workforce training programs,” said Marcela Díaz, Executive Director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a statewide immigrant based economic justice organization.