Bernalillo County adopts HB2 and policy priorities for 2026 legislative session

Bernalillo County commissioners approved an administrative resolution Oct. 28 adopting the county dministration's list of House Bill 2 funding priorities and policy positions for the 2026 New Mexico legislative session.

County staff said the priorities reflect recommendations from New Mexico Counties and local feedback and include capital priorities (housing and public-safety facilities), support for low-income housing tax-credit programs, funding for youth-adjudication facilities and wraparound services, support for workforce and licensing reforms, and requests for capital outlay funding. The packet included staff feedback and a version of the document with proposed edits introduced at the Oct. 14 meeting.

Commissioners discussed the process used to assemble and rank priorities; county officials said the approach was deliberately broad to capture issues raised during interim committee hearings and by lobbyists, and staff asked commissioners for feedback to refine priorities for the January-April session and to allow targeted, timely advocacy during the 30-day session. The board adopted the substitute version of the priorities as distributed in the packet and asked staff to continue coordination with legislators and the governor's office.

Why it matters: The document provides lobbying guidance for state session activity and sets the county's funding and policy focus for the 2026 legislative session.

What's next: Staff and the county's lobbyists will use the adopted priorities to coordinate with legislators, the governor's office and regional partners; commissioners said they may bring amendments during the session if issues arise.