FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3 2023
Contact: Joaquín Romero
(505) 506-5798
Senator Craig Brandt Applauds Passage of Senate Bill 113
Tax credit bill would encourage private support for tuition assistance for low-income and foster children
SANTA FE — Today, Senate Bill 113, sponsored by Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque), cleared the Senate Education Committee on a 3-2 partisan vote. All Republicans voted in favor of the Democrat-sponsored measure to establish the Equal Education Opportunity Scholarship Act. The legislation creates a tax credit for those who contribute money to tuition scholarship organizations. Those organizations in turn provide scholarships for eligible students to attend schools chosen by their parents. The pilot program is limited to 400 students and is specifically targeted to help low-income and foster children.
Senate Education Committee member, Senator Craig Brandt (R-Rio Rancho), issued the following statement:
“Today was evidence that the chairman and the anti-school choice lobbyists have no real interest in reasonable reforms to education in New Mexico. This bill is nothing earth-shattering. It is simply a tax credit to incentivize philanthropy and it specifically targets help for those most failed by our current system. The chairman clearly cares more about incentivizing solar panel and electric vehicle purchases than helping a few students break the cycle of poverty. I am thankful to the bill sponsor and my colleagues who recognize that righting our education system for the most disadvantaged starts by thinking outside the box.”
###
