WELCOME CHILD ACT & FUND

SB0208

SENATE BILL 208

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

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

AN ACT

RELATING TO CHILDREN; ENACTING THE WELCOME CHILD ACT; PROVIDING
WELCOME CHILD BENEFITS TO CERTAIN PARENTS AND GUARDIANS
BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2028; CREATING THE WELCOME CHILD BENEFIT
FUND; ESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE WELCOME
CHILD BENEFIT; PROVIDING FOR THE SECRETARY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION AND CARE TO PROMULGATE RULES TO IMPLEMENT THE
PROVISIONS OF THE WELCOME CHILD ACT; MAKING AN ANNUAL
DISTRIBUTION FROM THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE FUND
TO THE WELCOME CHILD BENEFIT FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

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

SECTION 1.
A new section of the Children's Code is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 5 of
this act may be cited as the "Welcome Child Act"."

SECTION 2.
A new section of the Children's Code is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Welcome Child
Act:

A. "department" means the early childhood education
and care department, the secretary or an employee of the
department exercising authority lawfully delegated to that
employee by the secretary; and

B. "secretary" means the secretary of early
childhood education and care."

SECTION 3.
A new section of the Children's Code is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] WELCOME CHILD BENEFIT FUND.--The "welcome
child benefit fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the
state treasury. The fund consists of distributions,
appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and income from
investment of the fund. The department shall administer the
fund, and money in the fund is appropriated to the department
to provide welcome child benefits pursuant to the Welcome Child
Act. Expenditures from the fund shall be by warrant of the
secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers
signed by the secretary of early childhood education and care
or the secretary's authorized representative."

SECTION 4.
A new section of the Children's Code is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] WELCOME CHILD BENEFIT.--

A. Beginning January 1, 2028 and subject to the
availability of funds in the welcome child benefit fund, the
department shall provide a welcome child benefit to an
applicant who:

(1) is the parent or legal guardian of a
newborn or newly adopted child; and

(2) has resided in the state for at least six
months in the twelve-month period immediately prior to the
birth or adoption of the child.

B. Except as provided in Subsection D of this
section, the welcome child benefit shall consist of three
monthly payments of three thousand dollars ($3,000) to be paid
to the child's parent or guardian for each of the three months
following the determination of the applicant's eligibility to
receive a welcome child benefit pursuant to Section 5 of the
Welcome Child Act; provided that if the determination is made
ninety days or more after the birth or adoption of a child or
after an applicant is appointed as a guardian of a child, the
benefit shall be paid in a lump sum of nine thousand dollars
($9,000).

C. If more than one custodial parent of a child
applies and is eligible to receive the welcome child benefit,
the monthly welcome child benefit may be divided evenly between
the parents.

D. On January 1, 2030 and each January 1
thereafter, the total amount of the welcome child benefit shall
be adjusted to account for inflation. The department shall
make the adjustment by multiplying the total amount of the
benefit by a fraction, the numerator of which is the consumer
price index ending during the prior calendar year and the
denominator of which is the consumer price index in calendar
year 2028. The result of the multiplication shall be rounded
to the nearest dollar, except that if the result would be an
amount less than the amount of the benefit for the preceding
fiscal year, then no adjustment shall be made.

E. For purposes of this section, "consumer price
index" means the consumer price index or its successor index
for all urban consumers for all items, published by the bureau
of labor statistics of the United States department of labor or
its successor agency."

SECTION 5.
A new section of the Children's Code is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] WELCOME CHILD BENEFIT--APPLICATION AND
DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED--NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.--

A. The department shall require an applicant for
the welcome child benefit to provide, within one month of the
child's birth or adoption, documentation of:

(1) the date of the child's birth or the date
of adoption or guardianship, as applicable;

(2) the applicant's relationship to the child;

(3) the applicant's in-state residency; and

(4) account information into which the welcome
child benefit should be deposited.

B. The department shall make a determination within
sixty days of receipt of a completed application. If the
application is approved, the department shall promptly make a
payment as provided in Section 4 of the Welcome Child Act.

C. If an application for a welcome child benefit is
denied, the department shall promptly notify the applicant of
the grounds for denial.

D. Only one welcome child benefit may be provided
per child.

E. An applicant for the welcome child benefit shall
not be eligible to receive the welcome child benefit if the
applicant has willfully or knowingly provided the department
with fraudulent documentation in support of an application."

SECTION 6.
Section 9-29A-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2020,
Chapter 3, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"9-29A-1. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE FUND--
DISTRIBUTIONS
.--

A. The "early childhood education and care fund" is
created within the state treasury. The fund shall consist of
distributions, appropriations, gifts, grants and donations.
Income from investment of the fund shall be credited to the
fund. Money in the fund shall be expended only as provided in
this section.

B. The state investment officer, subject to the
approval of the state investment council, shall invest money in
the early childhood education and care fund:

(1) in accordance with the prudent investor
rule set forth in the Uniform Prudent Investor Act; and

(2) in consultation with the [
state treasurer
]

secretary of early childhood education and care
.

C. The state investment officer shall report
quarterly to the legislative finance committee and the state
investment council on the investments made pursuant to this
section. Annually, a report shall be submitted no later than
October 1 each year to the legislative finance committee, the
revenue stabilization and tax policy committee and any other
appropriate interim committees.

D. On July 1 of each year, a distribution shall be
made from the early childhood education and care fund to:

(1)
the early childhood education and care
program fund in an amount equal to the greater of five percent
of the average of the year-end market values of the
early
childhood education and care
fund for the immediately preceding
three calendar years or five hundred million dollars
($500,000,000)
or, if the balance of the early childhood
education and care fund is less than five hundred million
dollars ($500,000,000), the balance of the early childhood
education and care fund
; and

(2) after the distribution pursuant to
Paragraph (1) of this subsection is made, the welcome child
benefit fund in an amount equal to one hundred eighty-nine
million dollars ($189,000,000)
or, if the balance of the early
childhood education and care fund is less than
one hundred
eighty-nine million dollars ($189,000,000), the balance of the

early childhood education and care
fund
.

E. In addition to the [
distribution
]
distributions

pursuant to Subsection D of this section, money in the early
childhood education and care fund may be expended in the event
that general fund balances, including all authorized revenues
and transfers to the general fund and balances in the general
fund operating reserve, the appropriation contingency fund,
[
the tobacco settlement permanent fund
] the state-support
reserve fund and the tax stabilization reserve, will not meet
the level of appropriations authorized from the general fund
for a fiscal year. In that event, to avoid an unconstitutional
deficit, the legislature may appropriate from the early
childhood education and care fund to the general fund only in
the amount necessary to meet general fund appropriations for
that fiscal year and only if the legislature has authorized
transfers from the appropriation contingency fund, the general
fund operating reserve
and
the tax stabilization reserve [
and
the tobacco settlement permanent fund
] that exhaust those fund
balances."

SECTION 7.
TEMPORARY PROVISION--PROMULGATION OF
RULES.--By July 1, 2027, the secretary of early childhood
education and care shall adopt rules to implement the
provisions of the Welcome Child Act.

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