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Sen. Gallegos outlines behavioral health funding wins, urges local engagement
Summary
Senator David Gallegos briefed the Hobbs commission on legislative action supporting behavioral health funding and planning, described three bills that began the state's effort, and urged public participation in a county town hall on facility planning.
Senator David Gallegos updated the Hobbs City Commission on May 19 about this year's legislative work on behavioral health and capital outlay funding and urged local officials and residents to engage in planning for a community wellness center.
Gallegos told the commission that three Senate initiatives were central to the session: one proposed a multi-year funding vehicle he described as a billion-dollar fund, a second provided near-term funding (he referenced $270,000,000 in discussion), and a third established statewide "guardrails" for how behavioral-health monies would be used. Not all measures passed in their original forms; Gallegos said one of his own bills did not get the governor's signature but that components were included in the budget.
"We came together in a room and asked, okay, what are the big pieces we can do in order to get this started?" Gallegos said, describing bipartisan work that he said produced a starting point for ongoing behavioral-health investment. He emphasized the need for facilities, staffing and the longer-term funding mechanism to support operations, saying the state must supplement Medicaid and other payers to cover true operating costs.
Gallegos urged residents to attend a joint city-county town hall on behavioral-health planning scheduled for May 21 at 6 p.m. in the same building; staff said the meeting will also be available by Zoom. He also discussed capital-outlay successes and the difficulty of negotiating bills in a large legislative session: he said 1,106 bills were introduced and about 195 were sent to the governor, with roughly 160 signed.
Commissioners thanked Gallegos and presented him with a commemorative plaque recognizing his legislative work for the district. Gallegos said he planned to display it at the Capitol in Santa Fe.
