Sen. Gabriel Ramos says state awards will bring about $15.2 million to Grant County

Sen. Gabriel Ramos presented a 2026 legislative overview to the Grant County Board of Commissioners, saying the delegation secured roughly $15,200,000 in state funding for projects in the county. "We're able to bring $15,200,000 to Grant County," Ramos said, and he singled out a $5,700,000 award for a linear accelerator at the county hospital.

Ramos listed a series of smaller awards he said the delegation obtained for community projects: $220,000 for six judicial-district attorney vehicles; $250,000 for an Aldo-Leopold‑related school-building fund tied to Jose Barrios Elementary; improvements to baseball and Little League fields; and multiple water, road and park projects across Silver City, Santa Clara, Bayard and surrounding areas. He said Silver City would receive $200,000 for park construction and $300,000 for Scott Park improvements and noted Western New Mexico University and the consolidated school district received vehicle and facility funding.

Commissioners pressed Ramos on road funding and how county priorities should be placed in the state ICIP (infrastructure capital‑planning) process. Commissioner Flores reiterated concerns that a $500,000 road allocation would only pave a few miles out of a county road network of many hundreds of miles and urged focusing state and local ICIP submissions on main thoroughfares to maximize impact. Ramos responded that large bond measures and ICIP prioritization drive much of the highway funding and urged closer cooperation between county and city ICIP lists.

Ramos described several legislative wins and defeats from his perspective, including passage of bipartisan medical‑malpractice legislation and increases in some public-safety penalties. On other measures, he said the legislature defeated a proposal he described as a zero‑emissions bill and a measure he said would have limited data on taxpayer‑funded abortions; Ramos framed those outcomes as reflective of bipartisan agreement and local concerns. "We passed the medical malpractice," he said. "We also expanded the access of health care…"

Why it matters: Ramos' account lists concrete awards and priorities that county officials can use when budgeting and coordinating with cities and school districts. Commissioners said they will follow up on ICIP placement and continue to press for road improvements and other locally prioritized projects.

Next steps: Commissioners asked staff to coordinate with city officials on ICIP submissions and to follow up with the senator and representative on timing and any administrative steps needed to access the awards.