During the last legislative session, NMBC continued advocating on behalf of New Mexico businesses who were forced to layoff employees due to the emergency health orders. The Unemployment Insurance (UI) fund was depleted by over 124,000 New Mexicans, most of which were out of work because of the lock down. The UI tax rates are tied to layoffs and the health of the UI fund, and we felt strongly that employers should not be held accountable for issues over which they had no control. NMBC worked with legislators to ensure $600 million dollars would be put into the UI fund. The measure passed in the budget, but the Governor vetoed it.
As you may have seen, NMBC has been actively encouraging the Governor to put at least $600,000 of the federal funds into the UI account. Our advocacy paid off again last week with the Governor announcing that $600 million would be used to replenish the UI fund. The replenishment of that fund will help mitigate tax increases for all New Mexico businesses and we are appreciative that the Governor took that action.