LFC report: “Free” Childcare for wealthiest New Mexicans to cost additional $400 million annually

According to a new Legislative Finance Committee report the Gov.’s plan to make “free” childcare available to New Mexicans earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level ($128,000 for a family of four) are set to cost big bucks at a time of slowing revenue growth.

The following is a direct quote from the report which states:

LFC estimates that if universal assistance include 90 percent uptake of all available slots in the state currently paying privately, the cost of Childcare Assistance to taxpayers would almost double to $849.7 million annually, an almost $400 million increase, or an 88.8 percent increase over FY26 spending.

That’s a lot of money, especially at a time when the heydey of the oil and gas boom appears to be behind us at least from a revenue perspective. In its current form the program is not cheap. According to the LFC the State serves 31,930 children at a cost of $450 million. That’s a cost of more than $14,000 per child. That’s substantially more than the $11,850 tuition at Hope Christian (based in Albuquerque) and is comparable to St. Pius X tuition which is currently $14,800.

But expansion will cost a bit more per child as the state has (among numerous other regulations) mandated a $16/hour minimum wage for all workers. So, if the Legislature goes along with MLG’s expansion plans, the cost per child will rise dramatically.

Will the Legislature simply go along with a lame duck Governor’s massive expansion of government on her way out the door in the upcoming 30-day session? It is impossible to say, but after years of revenue growth and an 80 percent increase in spending under the current Governor while oil prices are soft and dropping it would be a risky move.