Committee backs creation of $1 billion Behavioral Health Trust Fund, recommends bill advance

The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee voted to recommend advancement of Senate Bill 1, which would establish a $1 billion Behavioral Health Trust Fund to produce recurring revenue for behavioral-health services.

Sponsors told the committee the bill creates a permanent, nonreverting state trust similar to the state’s higher education and early childhood trusts and would be managed under prudent-investment standards by the State Investment Council. The bill would transfer $1,000,000,000 from the general fund into the trust corpus and target an initial annual distribution equal to about 5% of the average year‑end market value once the corpus achieves its target, likely producing roughly $50 million a year when mature. Sponsors said initial annual disbursements would begin in 2026–2028 and that the corpus would be counted as part of reserves for fiscal planning.

Advocates and providers described long waiting lists and overwhelmed services and urged the committee to approve a sustainable funding source. David Burke of Serenity Mesa Youth Recovery Center and NAMI Albuquerque described young people waiting for beds; Pierce Ferrigal of the Community Lighthouse and JD Bullington of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce urged long‑term investment; doctors and hospital officials described shortages of in‑state clinicians and the strain on emergency departments.

Senate Bill 1 lays out allowable uses, including prevention and treatment for mental health and substance use disorders; infrastructure, technology and workforce supports; matching funds to leverage federal, local and private dollars (including Medicaid); and implementation of regional behavioral‑health plans. Sponsors said the fund is designed to use nonrecurring state revenues to create recurring program funding and to attract federal matching funds.

Committee members pressed sponsors on feasibility and governance. Senators asked how the $1 billion would be assembled (sponsors cited combinations of cash balances, bond proceeds and phased transfers), whether the State Investment Council has capacity to manage additional assets (sponsors said staffing and FTE needs would be addressed in the budget process), and whether the annual distribution would be sufficient given statewide needs (members noted alcohol‑excise analyses that estimated larger annual program needs). Sponsors said the trust is one piece of a three‑bill package and would be paired with SB 2 and SB 3, which outline uses and accountability.

The committee recorded a unanimous due‑pass recommendation to advance SB 1 to the next stage. The clerk conducted a roll call and the committee secretary announced a unanimous recommendation; the committee’s record states the bill received a unanimous “due pass” recommendation.