YOUTH INTERNSHIP PILOT PROJECT

HB0280

HOUSE BILL 280

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Cristina Parajón
and Yanira Gurrola and
Anita Gonzales

AN ACT

RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT; CREATING THE YOUTH
INTERNSHIP PILOT PROJECT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT PAID INTERNSHIPS
FOR YOUTH WILL SUPPORT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE;
PROVIDING FOR GRANT AWARDS TO INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS; PROVIDING
FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR AN AWARD; ASSIGNING DUTIES TO THE WORKFORCE
SOLUTIONS DEPARTMENT; MAKING APPROPRIATIONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] YOUTH INTERNSHIP PROJECT--GRANT
AWARDS--ELIGIBILITY--TERMS--DUTIES.--

A. As used in this section:

(1) "department" means the workforce solutions
department;

(2) "internship program" means an internship
program administered by a nonprofit organization, school
district, charter school or federally recognized Indian nation,
tribe or pueblo located wholly or partially in New Mexico;

(3) "project" means the youth internship
project; and

(4) "youth" means persons who are between the
ages of fourteen and twenty-two and who are attending high
school or recently graduated from high school.

B. The "youth internship project" is created as a
three-year pilot project to demonstrate that supporting paid
internships for youth will improve workforce development in the
state. The department shall administer the project by awarding
grants, monitoring the use of a grant awards and collecting and
analyzing data to measure outcomes.

C. A project grant:

(1) may only be awarded to an internship
program that facilitates paid internships for youth with public
or private entities;

(2) may only be used to supplement pay for
internships, for support services for interns and for
administrative program expenses approved by the department; and

(3) shall have a one-year term and may be
renewed if the internship program was successful in the initial
grant term and if money is available in the fund.

D. To be eligible for a grant award, an internship
program shall be otherwise eligible to receive state money and
shall:

(1) have a thorough system to vet public or
private entities that host interns and a system for interns and
entities to submit complaints;

(2) only facilitate internships with a pay
structure by which an intern's pay is covered by contributions
from both the organization and the public or private entity
hosting the intern;

(3) provide support services to interns that
may include training, coaching, career counseling, education
regarding financial literacy, transportation, equipment or
supplies;

(4) agree to collect data for grant evaluation
that includes, at minimum, internship completion rates, post-internship placement statistics, intern pay, intern
demographics and satisfaction surveys of public or private
entities that host interns;

(5) if applicable, coordinate with the public
education department to provide for a student to receive credit
toward the student's graduation requirements for an eligible
internship; and

(6) meet other conditions or criteria imposed
by the department.

E. The department shall:

(1) determine the form and manner of grant
applications;

(2) require that all interns receiving pay
supplemented by a grant register with the department's online
information system;

(3) determine metrics to measure the
effectiveness of a grant award and adopt a uniform system to
evaluate effectiveness of a grant award;

(4) provide an annual report on grant awards
made and the related evaluation data to the legislative
education study committee and the appropriate interim committee
that reviews economic development issues on or before December
1 of 2026, 2027 and 2028; and

(5) provide a final report on the
effectiveness of the project to the governor and the
legislature on or before December 1, 2029.

SECTION 2.
APPROPRIATION.--Two hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the
workforce solutions department for expenditure in fiscal years
2027 through 2029 to carry out the purposes of the youth
internship project. Any unexpended balance remaining at the
end of fiscal year 2029 shall revert to the general fund.

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