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-HOUSE MEMORIAL 36
+Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Le gislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
+committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for th e accuracy of these reports if they
+are used for other purposes.
 
-57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026
+F I S C A L    I M P A C T    R E P O R T
 
-INTRODUCED BY
+BILL NUMBER: House Memorial 36
+SHORT TITLE: Nursing Shortage Task Force
+SPONSOR: Cates/Roybal Caballero
+LAST
+UPDATE:
+ ORIGINAL
+DATE:
 
-Kathleen Cates and Patricia Roybal Caballero
+02/04/2026
 
-A MEMORIAL
+ANALYST: Rommel
 
-REQUESTING THE BOARD OF NURSING TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO
-ADDRESS THE NURSING SHORTAGE CRISIS.
+ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
+(dollars in thousands)
+Agency/Program FY26 FY27 FY28 3 Year
+Total Cost
+Recurring or
+Nonrecurring
+Fund
+Affected
+BON No fiscal
+impact
+Indeterminate
+but minimal
+No fiscal
+impact  Nonrecurring Other state
+funds
+Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
+*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
 
-     WHEREAS, according to a study conducted by the workforce
-solutions department in April 2025, there are nearly eighteen
-thousand registered nurses, one thousand three hundred licensed
-practical nurses and eight thousand three hundred advanced
-practice nurses currently practicing in the state of New
-Mexico; and
+Sources of Information
 
-     WHEREAS, nursing is the largest sector of the health care
-workforce, yet there is a critical shortage of nurses in the
-state, which is taxing on the state's health care delivery
-systems and on access to care for state residents; and
+LFC Files
 
-     WHEREAS, this shortage is exacerbated by a gap in
-education to meet workforce needs, and this gap is made clear
-by the thousands of nursing job postings each month according
-to the workforce solutions department; and
+Agency or Agencies Providing Analysis
 
-     WHEREAS, even though appropriations in recent fiscal years
-have been provided to fund additional nursing school slots and
-faculty positions, rates of enrollment and degree completion in
-nursing programs are not increasing as needed; and
+Board of Nursing
+Higher Education Department
+University of New Mexico
+New Mexico Independent Community Colleges
 
-     WHEREAS, approximately three thousand two hundred new
-nurses need to graduate from nursing programs every year to
-meet intended nurse staffing needs by 2032, but approximately
-one thousand four hundred new nurses graduated in 2025;
+SUMMARY
 
-     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
-REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the board of
-nursing be requested to create a task force to identify
-barriers to increasing nursing graduation rates and employee
-retention consisting of one member from each of the following
-organizations:
+Synopsis of House Memorial 36
 
-          A.  nursing professional organizations, including
-the New Mexico nurses association, the New Mexico nurse
-practitioner council, the New Mexico organization of nurse
-leaders and nursing unions;
+House Memorial 36 (HM36) requests the New Mexico Bo ard of Nursing convene a
+multidisciplinary task force to address the stat e’s nursing shortage. The task force would include
+representatives from nursing pr ofessional organizations, hospita ls, nursing education programs,
+post-secondary institutions, and li censed practical nurse programs. It is charged with identifying
+barriers to nursing education expansion, enrol lment, graduation, and workforce retention, and
+with developing recommendations to close the gap between current nursing graduate output and
+projected workforce needs. The task force must report its findings and recommendations to the
+interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee and the Legislative Finance
+Committee.
 
-          B.  the New Mexico hospital association;
+HM36 does not specify a date by which the report is to be submitted.
+House Memorial 36 – Page 2
 
-          C.  the New Mexico nursing education consortium;
+FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
 
-          D.  New Mexico colleges of nursing deans or
-delegates;
+Memorials do not contain appropriations and ar e not enforceable as state law. The study
+requested in this memorial is within the normal operations of the agencies involved and is
+unlikely to result in significant costs.
 
-          E.  post-secondary educational institutions; and
+SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
 
-          F.  high school licensed practical nurse programs;
-and
+New Mexico continues to face a critical, chroni c shortage of health professionals across the
+disciplines, particularly in rural areas. Thirty -two of 33 New Mexico counties are designated as
+Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in pr imary care, behavioral health, and/or dental
+health. On average, New Mexico needs at least an additional 5,000 healthcare workers to address
+current shortages. In December 2025, according to  the Workforce Solutions Department, there
+were 3,025 online job postings for nurses, the largest number of all postings tracked.
 
-     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to
-report findings and recommendations to the appropriate interim
-legislative committee that addresses health and human services
-and the legislative finance committee and that the report
+The Board of Nursing indicates it can convene stakeholders and lead the task force.
+
+UNM notes:
+
+The University of New Mexico College of Nu rsing (UNM CON) supports the intent of
+HM36 and agrees New Mexico needs a coor dinated strategy to address the nursing
+workforce shortage. UNM CON has alread y expanded enrollment and deployed state
+investments to grow programs (e.g., underg raduate honors, Freshm an Direct Entry,
+Accelerated BSN programs) and remains co mmitted to continued growth. UNM CON
+admissions have increased by over 112 percent from Fiscal Year 2015, growing from 322
+to 684, demonstrating strong commitment to  addressing the New Mexico’s nursing
+workforce shortage
+
+The Higher Education Department (HED) notes:
+
+The Legislature has appropriated funding throu gh Research and Public Service Projects
+(RPSPs) to support nursing prog rams statewide. Starting in  Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27),
+nursing RPSPs have been rolled into the higher education institutions' instructional and
+general (I&G) base funding. However, th e long-term impact of sustained RPSP
+investments on nursing program capacity and graduate output remains unclear.
+
+HM36 requests that the Board of Nursing conve ne and manage a broad, multi-sector task
+force focused on nursing education capacity, workforce retention, and expansion of
+higher education programs. Wh ile the Board of Nursing plays an important role in
+licensure and regulation, many of the issues identified in the memorial, including faculty
+compensation, program capacit y, and academic credentiali ng, pathways fall primarily
+within the purview of higher education institu tions, state higher education agencies, and
+institutional governing boards. Clear delineation of roles and coordinati on mechanisms
+may be necessary to ensure recommendations are actionable.
+
+The memorial also states that, despite r ecent appropriations to expand nursing education
+capacity, enrollment and degree completion in nursing programs are not increasing at the
+House Memorial 36 – Page 3
+
+rate needed to meet workforce demand. Howe ver, recent findings  from NMHED’s New
+Mexico Endowment Funding for Educatio n and Health Workforce Programs:
+Institutional Survey Report suggest a more nua nced picture. Institutions reported that
+endowment funding for nursing facu lty support was relatively successful, but persistent
+challenges remain in recruiting and retaining qualified faculty.
+
+New Mexico Independent Community Colleges (NMICC) comments:
+
+… Areas not addressed in the HM36 but wh ich could provide valuable information
 include:
+• Utilizing the framework established by HM36, examining each nursing licensure
+type on its own. For example, nurses with an  associate degree or bachelor degree
+license have the same scope of pract ice. Licensed practical nurses have a
+narrower scope of practice. In New Me xico nurse practitioners provide care
+independently.
+• Successfully passing the appropriate nursing licensure exam is required in order
+to be licensed. An examination of passage rates should be included.
+• Upon successful completion of an i ndividual’s nursing education, they may
+chose not to practice. The study could examine the barriers to entering New
+Mexico’s nursing workforce.
 
-          A.  barriers to employment retention;
+OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
 
-          B.  barriers to nursing educational slot expansion;
+HED further notes:
 
-          C.  barriers to nursing school enrollment and
-retention; and
+Nursing workforce shortages are immediate,  but nursing education is a multi-year
+pipeline. Even with the successful expans ion of program capacity, increases in the
+number of licensed nurses would not be rea lized for several years. Policymakers may
+wish to consider how task force recommendations align with both short-term workforce
+needs and long-term pipeline development. Further, HM36 focuses on statewide supply,
+but workforce shortages are often most acute in rural and frontier areas. Even if overall
+graduate numbers increase, geographic mald istribution may persis t without targeted
+incentives, clinical partners hips, or rural training pathways. Addressing where nurses
+practice, in addition to how many graduate, may be an important component of long-term
+workforce planning.
 
-          D.  recommendations to improve the nursing
-educational gap to address nursing workforce needs; and
-
-     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
-transmitted to the board of nursing, the appropriate interim
-legislative committee that addresses health and human services
-and the director of the legislative finance committee.
-
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+HLR/cf