Rep. Kathleen Cates

With the state showing no signs of backing away form its worst in the nation status for alcohol-related deaths, legislators will have another go at raising alcohol taxes in the next session. This Other Voices column was co-authored by state Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and state Reps. Joanne Ferrary, Kathleen Cates, Liz Thomson and D. Wonda Johnson.

We are committed to working with our legislative colleagues in the upcoming session to pass laws that reduce alcohol consumption and provide stable funding to address the problems caused by alcohol in our state. Our state’s future depends on it. 

In the 260 days since the last attempted alcohol tax increase during the 2024 legislative session, about 1,400 people in New Mexico have died from alcohol-related causes — more than twice as many as those who have died from opioid overdose. 

Drinking too much alcohol is linked to serious issues in our communities, like gun violence, crime, domestic violence, and car accidents, as well as health problems like breast cancer, stroke, and hypertension. 

New Mexico has had the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths in the country since 1997, and we need different strategies to tackle this public health crisis. We won’t improve health, reduce health disparities, lower death rates, or reduce crime without taking action on alcohol misuse. 

One of the most powerful ways to do this is by increasing alcohol taxes, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. The funds generated by New Mexico’s current alcohol taxes are insufficient to support programs aimed at combating alcohol misuse, and the current tax rate does not effectively discourage drinking. This is largely due to the fact that New Mexico has not raised alcohol taxes in over 30 years. 

Although the harms to society from alcohol costs the state’s economy nearly $4 per standard drink, the state collects $0.04 to $0.07 in taxes per standard drink. These harms affect under-resourced individuals and communities at a much higher rate and at greater intensities. It is a moral imperative that we address these health disparities.

 It is unconscionable that Native Americans, Hispanic, and Black individuals in the state report the lowest prevalence of alcohol use yet experience the highest rates of alcohol-related death. As state lawmakers, we must take immediate action to address this public health crisis and improve the lives of all New Mexicans. 

In the 2025 legislative session, we aim to pass laws that will: 1) reduce alcohol consumption by 5% to 10% and 2) generate $200 to $250 million each year to fund public health programs for prevention and treatment of alcohol misuse. There are multiple ways to accomplish these goals. 

For instance, we could achieve these goals by raising existing alcohol taxes by $0.25 per drink as has been proposed previously. Alternatively, adjusting existing excise taxes for inflation since 1994 and adding a sales tax at the time of purchase could also accomplish these objectives. The excise tax is based on the volume of the beverage, while a sales tax would depend on how much people spend on alcohol, and is thus a more progressive tax. 

Experts believe these changes could lower drinking rates and provide steady funding for prevention and treatment. This specific funding stream is crucial since our state’s economy relies heavily on oil and gas, and during tough economic times, behavioral and public health services are often cut first. Furthermore, allocating money from the general fund alone would have substantially reduced impacts on the most important component–decreasing population-level alcohol consumption.

 In order to safeguard the health and future of New Mexico, it is imperative that we take bold action now by implementing higher alcohol taxes, ensuring that our communities receive the support they need to combat this ongoing public health crisis. We must come together to find a path forward for this critical legislation.

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