Nathan Small

State spending and affordability: New Mexico has benefited from historically strong state revenues, while many residents continue to struggle with the cost of housing, food, health care and utilities. What should the Legislature do with the state’s current financial resources to make life more affordable while preparing for the possibility of lower revenues in the future?

As Chair of the House Budget Committee, this is what I focus on every day. We have cut over $1 Billion dollars in taxes. We have used state resources to cover federal cuts to health insurance, Medicaid, SNAP, and other areas. We have gotten over 2000 New Mexicans off the street and into housing through state investments.

We must continue utilizing our state budgets, while diversifying our economy, and leveraging our strong fiscal position. Oil and gas production is forecast to continue rising through 2030 and then to plateau. My approach is to direct windfall resources to support the most important needs of New Mexicans now while growing our permanent funds to lessen dependence on oil and gas and diversify our economy.  

There’s more we can do to address the pinch that families are feeling with the rising costs of groceries, gas, and other products. We can bring down the cost of prescription drugs and increase the child tax credit and working family tax credit. Those would help working families keep their hard-earned dollars. 

Education: New Mexico has substantially increased spending on public education but continues to struggle with student achievement. What should the state do differently, and what measures would you use to determine whether those policies are succeeding?

We are seeing literacy proficiency rates, graduation rates, and career technical education uptake all increase. Work based learning, additional educator support, and close collaboration with communities is key to continuing our educational progress.

I supported significant educator raises, especially for Spanish- and Native-language bilingual educators, and would work with tribal nations, families, educators, and principals to identify what works locally because there’s always more we could do. We must continue expanding literacy efforts and hands-on learning, including career and technical education and internships. 

Healthcare: Southern New Mexico continues to face shortages of doctors and other health care providers. What should the Legislature do to increase access to health care and attract and retain providers, and are there changes you would make to the way the state currently spends health care dollars?

Every New Mexican deserves affordable, quality care close to home. I worked to protect access to Medicaid from Trump’s federal cuts, lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs, and make insurance easier to understand by requiring clear information about premiums, deductibles, copays, covered services, and coverage limits. I supported legislation to finally revamp our medical malpractice law, and I support additional insurance disclosure efforts.

To improve rural access, we need to work with local clinics, hospitals, tribal nations, and providers to identify gaps and strengthen care in underserved communities.  We funded UNM Medical School’s expansion last session that will double the number of doctors they graduate, we funded over 100 residency slots using state dollars and vastly increased the healthcare loan repayment fund. We should build and retain the healthcare workforce through education, training, and apprenticeship pathways, and expand access to mental-health and substance-use treatment. 

Water, energy and large development: Large developments such as data centers can bring jobs and investment but can also create significant demands for water, electricity and infrastructure. What requirements should New Mexico place on these projects, and under what circumstances should the state say no to a proposed development?

I’ve been clear from Day One: We must have water-use limits and environmental guardrails for data centers, including a requirement that lowers— not increases—residential utility rates. We need to ensure data centers are sourced by renewable energy, do not harm our water supply, and use in-state unionized labor. A moratorium is critical until these protections are in place, and local communities must be respected. I would say no to a project that cannot meet those standards or would put residents’ water, environment, or utility costs at risk.

The Bulletin asked each Dona Ana County candidate four questions to allow voters to assess where the candidates stands on important issues heading into the election. The questions vary for each office, but are the same for every candidate running for the same office.

We attempted to wait to publish until we heard from all candidates for a race, but in this race, we have not received a response from Julia Ruiz, the Republican candidate for House District 38. If we can get a response from her campaign this week, we will run her answers in the Oct. 30 edition of the Bulletin.