New Mexico’s Democratic-led Legislature pushed Tuesday for one-time payments to residents of $500 per individual or $1,000 per household to offset steep prices for fuel and raging inflation, the Associated Press reported. The aid package would distribute nearly $700 million to adult residents of all income levels, including elderly people with little or no income who don’t ordinarily file taxes and undocumented immigrants. The bill won House approval on a 51-13 vote with broad support from Democrats and several Republicans, moving the initiative to the Senate for consideration. More than a dozen states are considering or implementing payouts to the public in response to raging inflation and budget surpluses, with some tax reductions also under consideration. Gas prices have surged to record highs in the U.S. amid the war in Ukraine and a ban on imports of Russian oil. Fuel prices are taking a bite out household finances at the same time that New Mexico state government is experiencing a financial windfall linked to record-setting oil production in the Permian Basin. New Mexico last year surpassed North Dakota to become the No. 2 oil producer in the nation behind Texas.
