SANTA FE, N.M. — The 30-day legislative session may be over but we are keeping a close eye on what bills the governor has or hasn’t signed yet. One of those bills has the goal of making it easier to build affordable housing in the state.

House Bill 195 creates the Housing Development Fund, dedicating $125 million to housing projects across New Mexico.

“So what this bill does is it sets up a revolving loan fund that municipalities and folks that are building not only affordable housing, but also workforce housing, that they can tap into these funds to help them with the infrastructure for housing developments,” said Rep. Meredith A. Dixon, one of the bill’s sponsors.

The money will go toward building out roads and sidewalks and even connecting new developments to utility lines.

Dixon said she hopes the fund will lead to new housing sooner rather than later.

“Obviously, it’ll take a little bit of time for things to get moving, but I really hope that New Mexicans see progress, you know, this year,” Dixon said.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has not signed this bill into law yet, but had voiced her support for the legislation earlier on during the session.