New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII,
Issue 14 / July 28, 2026
TITLE 2 PUBLIC
FINANCE
CHAPTER 110 LOCAL GOVERNMENT
GRANTS
PART 7 PUBLIC
SAFETY WORKFORCE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM
2.110.7.1 ISSUING
AGENCY:
Department of finance and administration.
[2.110.7.1 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.2 SCOPE: These rules govern
grant funding available to the state and relevant political subdivisions aimed
at expanding the workforce and capacity of public safety roles, including law enforcement,
firefighting, detention, corrections, and licensed attorneys in district
attorney and public defender offices.
They also cover equipment purchases that support these program goals. The scope encompasses all entities eligible
for such grants to enhance public safety staffing and resources.
[2.110.7 2 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The department adopts these rules pursuant to
statutory provisions establishing the public safety workforce building program and
creating the public safety workforce capacity building fund, Sections 9-6-22
and 9-6-23, NMSA 1978.
[2.110.7.3 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.4 DURATION:
Permanent.
[2.110.7.4 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.5 EFFECTIVE
DATE: July
28, 2026, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[2.110.7.5 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.6 OBJECTIVE: This rule establishes
standards and procedures for administering the public safety workforce building
program, including competitive review of applications, equitable allocation of
awards, eligible and ineligible uses, expenditure timelines, reporting,
evaluation criteria, and program reporting.
It ensures funds are used efficiently to increase statewide capacity for
the employment of public safety professionals and to support related equipment
needs. The program provides grant
funding for initiatives that increase the state’s available workforce and capacity
to employ public safety professionals and to purchase equipment in furtherance
of the program’s objectives.
[2.110.7.6 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.7 DEFINITIONS: As used in this rule:
A. “Applicant” means an eligible
entity applying for a grant award under the program. An application shall be on
forms and in a manner prescribed by the department and include:
(1) a description of the proposed
initiative;
(2) a description demonstrating the
initiative will meet a program objective; and
(3) details and specifics as to the
reasonably expected costs and completion date.
B. “Department” means the
department of finance and administration.
C. “Eligible entity” means the
state, a political subdivision of the state, or tribal government.
D. “Fund” means the public
safety workforce capacity building fund.
E. “Grantee” means an eligible
entity that has accepted an award under the program. If a grantee accepts an offer, the initiative
may commence, and the grantee shall report to the department on the
initiative’s progress on a periodic basis, as determined by the department,
including an accounting of expenditures.
F. “Initiative” means a project
or activity proposed by an applicant to increase the workforce or employment
capacity for public safety professionals, or to purchase equipment in
furtherance of the program’s objectives, with stated costs and a completion
date. Funded initiatives may include recruitment,
collaboration between overlapping jurisdictions, and increasing investigative,
response, or case management capacity, including recruitment or retention of
personnel or training existing personnel to serve in new public safety roles.
G. “Program” means the public
safety workforce building program. The
public safety workforce building program is established within the department
to provide grant funding for initiatives that increase workforce and capacity for
the employment of public safety professionals and for equipment in furtherance
of program objectives.
[2.110.7.7 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.8 ADMINISTRATION;
APPLICATION; REVIEW; AWARD:
A. Application form and content. To receive a grant, an applicant shall apply
to the department on a form and in a manner prescribed by the department. An application shall include a description of
the proposed initiative, a description demonstrating that the initiative will meet
a program objective, and details regarding the reasonable expected costs and
completion date.
B. Competitive review and approval. The
department shall determine, through a competitive review process pursuant to
rules promulgated by the department, which proposed initiatives are approved to
receive a grant. The department may adjust the amount requested for a proposed
initiative based on its determination of the initiative's reasonable costs.
C. Offer and acceptance. Once an initiative is approved, the
department shall promptly offer each applicant a grant, as appropriate. If a grantee accepts an offer, the initiative
may commence.
D. Reporting during implementation. A grantee shall report to the department on
the initiative's progress on a periodic basis, as determined by the department,
including an accounting of expenditures for the initiative.
E. Expenditure deadline and return of
unexpended balances. Funds allocated to an
approved initiative shall be spent within two years of receiving the
grant. Any unexpended balance remaining
at the end of the initiative period shall be immediately returned to the
department, but no later than thirty days after the end of the initiative
period, which shall deposit returned amounts in the public safety workforce
capacity building fund.
F. Allocation across counties;
equitable distribution. The department
may award a grant to an eligible entity and shall allocate grant funds equitably. If applicants whose primary jurisdictions are
in different counties apply jointly for a grant and the grant is awarded, each
applicant shall receive an award amount based on the applicant’s county. The department shall aim to award grants
based on an applicant’s county as follows:
(1) up to twenty-five percent of the money
in the fund at the time of the award, less administrative costs, for grants to
applicants whose primary jurisdiction is within a county with a population of at
least five hundred thousand;
(2) up to thirty-five percent of the money
in the fund at the time of the award, less administrative costs, for grants to
applicants whose primary jurisdiction is within a county with a population of
at least one hundred thousand but less than five hundred thousand; and
(3) any amount of available money
remaining in the fund for grants to applicants whose primary jurisdiction is
within a county with a population of less than one hundred thousand, in each case
according to the most recent federal decennial census.
[2.110.7.8 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.9 AWARD
CRITERIA:
A. Department criteria. The department
shall develop criteria to guide decisions on awarding a grant.
B. Considerations. In making award determinations, the
department shall take into consideration:
(1) an applicant’s public safety
professional vacancy rate;
(2) the cost of living and comparable
market compensation for the applicant’s locality; and
(3) the crime rates in the applicant’s
locality.
C. Priorities. The department shall prioritize consideration
of applicant proposals for initiatives that:
(1) target recruitment of individuals who
are experienced public safety professionals and are not currently employed by a
governmental entity within the state;
(2) include collaborations between
overlapping jurisdictions; and
(3) increase investigative, response, or
case management capacity, including recruiting or retaining personnel or training
existing personnel to serve in new public safety roles
D. Capacity and competence. The department’s criteria shall evaluate an
applicant’s ability and competence to efficiently and adequately complete a
proposed initiative.
[2.110.7.9 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.10 ELIGIBLE
AND INELIGIBLE USES:
A. Eligible uses. A grantee may use a grant to:
(1) provide a recruitment differential
disbursement, including a disbursement for relocation expenses for a newly hired
public safety professional, provided that the professional remains employed
with the grantee for the period specified in department rule;
(2) provide a retention differential
disbursement to a public safety professional who is already employed by the
grantee and is not an elected public official, provided that the professional
remains employed by the grantee for the period specified in department rule;
(3) implement professional development initiatives
to recruit, train, or retain public safety professionals;
(4) implement campaigns to recruit
in-state or out-of-state public-safety professionals; or
(5) pay for equipment or equipment
upgrades tied to professional development initiatives to recruit public safety
professionals.
B. Ineligible uses and limitations. A grantee shall not use a grant:
(1) for a recurring initiative, unless the
grantee first provides a plan to replace nonrecurring funds with recurring funds
to support the initiative;
(2) to create a public safety professional
position or to fund the base salary of an existing public safety position; or
(3) to replace recurring funding.
[2.110.7.10 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
2.110.7.11 REPORTING;
PROGRAM ACCOUNTABILITY:
A. Grantee expenditure reporting. Grantees must submit programmatic and
financial reports to DFA in accordance with grant agreement terms and reporting
schedules established by DFA. All reports
must be accurate, complete, supported by documentation, certified by an
authorized official, and submitted on or before the required deadline. Any unexpended balance remaining after
completion of the initiative shall revert to the fund within thirty days of
completion.
B. Department annual report. By November 1 of each fiscal year, the
department shall provide an annual report on the program to the legislative
finance committee, including:
(1) information about each grant applicant,
the grant amount requested, and the title and description of the applicant’s
proposed initiative;
(2) grantee information, including the
grantee’s agency, the grant amount awarded, and the title and description of
the grantee’s initiative;
(3) data collected and evaluations by the
department regarding the efficacy of the initiatives of grant award recipients;
and
(4) the status of ongoing workload studies
and the results of completed workload studies.
[2.110.7.11 NMAC - N, 7/28/2026]
History of 2.110.7 NMAC:
[RESERVED]