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NMFA asks lawmakers to shift PPRF dollars to match $36M federal drinking-water grant and seeks $25M boost for rural clinics
Summary
New Mexico Finance Authority staff asked the oversight committee to endorse moving roughly $7.15 million from the Public Project Revolving Fund to help match a $36 million federal drinking-water capitalization grant and requested a one-time $25 million appropriation to the Primary Care Capital Fund to support rural clinics statewide.
New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) staff told the legislative oversight committee they will ask the Legislature to transfer roughly $7.15 million from the Public Project Revolving Fund (PPRF) to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund as the 20% state match for an anticipated $36 million federal capitalization grant.
Marquita Russell, NMFA CEO, said the combined federal and state dollars are needed to unlock federal drinking-water funds and that the authority is constrained by the 35% cap on governmental gross receipts tax distributions used for matching. "If we don't fund the drinking water match, we're not going to get those $36 million in," Russell said, explaining the transfer request is timed to avoid losing the federal tranche.
The NMFA also asked for a one-time $25 million appropriation to the Primary Care Capital Fund to help nonprofit and local government primary-care providers acquire and retrofit facilities. Russell described the fund's prior capitalization: $5 million initial funding later leveraged into roughly $12.5 million in loans. The authority said primary-care clinics, including dental and behavioral-health components in one-stop models, are eligible uses under the Primary Care Capital Act and that capital work such as roofs, HVAC and retrofits has previously qualified.
Committee members raised practical questions about which providers would qualify and whether clinic chains or federally qualified health centers could apply; Russell said eligibility is based on licensing by the Department of Health and that applicants have used the fund for facility acquisition and expansion across 90 communities.
Why it matters: NMFA staff said matching the federal drinking-water grant would unlock a large pool of federal money for water infrastructure, while the Primary Care Capital Fund is positioned to help keep rural and community clinics open by lowering facility costs. Russell said the $25 million request is intended as a one-time infusion; additional future appropriations would require separate legislative action.
Next steps: NMFA will present formal legislative language and project lists at the committee's November meeting; the committee was invited to endorse the requests ahead of the 2026 session.
