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Pandemic Emptied Unemployment Trust, Left Fraud Unchecked -
By Morgan Lee Associated Press
New Mexico probably overpaid unemployment insurance benefits by an estimated $250 million during the coronavirus pandemic amid a backlog of investigations into potentially fraudulent claims, the budget and accountability office of the Legislature announced Wednesday in a research report.
Analysts briefed members of the Legislature s lead budget writing committee on the trajectory of record-setting unemployment claims during pandemic.
New Mexico has paid out more than $3 billion in unemployment claims through the state s Workforce Solutions Department since the local outset of the pandemic in March 2020. That put the state unemployment trust fund into insolvency and in debt to the federal government.
By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
More than two dozen farms in southern New Mexico have applied for a program that will pay them not to plant their fields as water managers look for new ways to stretch resources in the drought-stricken state.
It s the first phase of a multiyear pilot project being managed by the Office of the State Engineer. State Engineer John D Antonio has described the program as essential for ensuring the aquifers in the lower Rio Grande remain at sustainable levels in the future.
The Legislature approved funding for the effort last year and the state began accepting applications from farmers in the fall. The Interstate Stream Commission is now processing 27 contracts totaling more than $900,000 and covering just over 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) of farmland.