About the bills
In 2025, the Legislature failed to allocate any new funds for state roadway construction and cut annual maintenance funding by more than half. Historically, Sections 9 and 11 of the budget have provided an average of $300 million per year for these purposes.
The Highway Project Bonding proposal authorizes additional bonding capacity for NMDOT—up to$1.5 billion, limited to $290 million per year—to accelerate construction of critical roadway projects statewide
To responsibly offset this new debt, the bill provides for new and adjusted revenue streams projected to generate $72.2 million in FY26, rising to $80.6 million by FY28, including:
A 35% increase to the weight-distance tax
A 25% increase in vehicle registration fees
A new fee for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
The absence of 2025 funding created a lost construction year, putting jobs, safety, and project momentum at risk statewide. Without the supplemental action such as a one-time appropriation in this year’s session, we will soon be in this position again and communities will continue to face delays.
Bill Tracker
The $1.5 billion dollar bonding bill for roadways will be on the Governors call for the 2026 legislative session. Once we have a bill number and sponsor we will publish it here.
The special appropriation for roadways is expected to be written into the House Bill that funds the government for the year. Once the language is written in that bill we will publish it here.