NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT
ORDINANCE
Dist. 3: Todd Tatum
Chairman
505-652-0039
ttatum@co.colfax.nm.us
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEARBY GIVEN that the Colfax County Commissioners will consider
adoption of Ordinance No.2025-04-Describe below at the 3rd Floor Commission Chambers, of
the Colfax County Building on Tuesday, September 9th, 2025, at 8:45am.
The Title of the Proposed Ordinance is: Ordinance No. 2025-04, An Ordinance amending
Colfax County Ordinance no: 2014-02 an ordinance providing for dedication to the safety
net care pool fund.
The title contains a general summary of the subject matter contained in the ordinance, this notice
constitutes compliance with section 4-37-7, NMSA 1978.
Copies of the Proposed Ordinance is available for inspection of the County Website @
www.co.colfax.nm.us or a the office of the County Manager, Colfax County Building, 230 North
3rd St. Raton NM during regular business hours.
Accessibility Notice:
If you are an individual with a disability in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language
interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or
meeting, please contact the County Manager’s Office at least one (1) week prior to the meeting or
as soon as possible. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, are available in various
accessible formats. If you require a summary or another type of accessible format, please contact
the County Manager’s Office for assistance.
County Manager – Cheryl Navarette
manager@co.colfax.nm.us
P.O. Box 1498
Raton, New Mexico 87740
Office. 575-445-9661
Fax. 575-445-2902
www.co.colfax.nm.us
Board of
Commissioners
Dist. 1: Si Trujillo
Member
505-617-6893
strujillo@co.colfax.nm.us
Dist. 2: Mary Lou Kern
Vice Chair
505-617-6895
kern@co.colfax.nm.us
Dist. 3: Todd Tatum
Chairman
505-652-0039
ttatum@co.colfax.nm.us
COLFAX COUNTY ORDINANCE NO: 2025-04
AMENDING COLFAX COUNTY ORDINANCE NO: 2014-02
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR DEDICATION TO THE
SAFETY NET CARE POOL FUND.
WHEREAS, in 2014 the State Legislature passed Senate Bill 268 mandating each
County, by ordinance, to dedicate to the state’s Safety Net Care Pool Fund an amount equal
to a one-twelfth (1/12) percent applied to the taxable gross receipts reported during the prior
fiscal year by persons engaging in business in the County; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, the Board of County Commissioners complied with the new
statutory requirement in NMSA 1978, Section 27-5-6.1 by passing Ordinance 2014-02; and
WHEREAS, since the effective date of Ordinance 2014-02, the County has dutifully
transferred to the state on the last day of March, June, September, and December the requisite
amount to be credited to the state’s Safety Net Care Pool Fund; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 27-5-6.1, such monies in the Safety Net
Care Pool Fund are for the purpose of making payments to qualifying hospitals; and
WHEREAS, Colfax County recently became aware that the state no longer maintains in
its treasury a Safety Net Care Pool Fund as required by statute; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the General Appropriation Act, House Bill 2, passed in the 2025
Legislative Session, on Page 93, Lines 6 through 8, the following language appears: “The internal
service funds/interagency transfers appropriations to the medical assistance program of the health
care authority include seventy-seven million three hundred forty thousand five hundred dollars
($77,340,500) from safety net care pool proceeds.”; and
WHEREAS, such transfers appear not to be for the purpose of making payments to
qualifying hospitals as required by Section 27-5-6.1.
County Manager – Cheryl Navarette
manager@co.colfax.nm.us
P.O. Box 1498
Raton, New Mexico 87740
Office. 575-445-9661
Fax. 575-445-2902
www.co.colfax.nm.us
Board of
Commissioners
Dist. 1: Si Trujillo
Member
505-617-6893
strujillo@co.colfax.nm.us
Dist. 2: Mary Lou Kern
Vice Chair
505-617-6895
kern@co.colfax.nm.us
Dist. 3: Todd Tatum
Chairman
505-652-0039
ttatum@co.colfax.nm.us
ELECTED MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, BE
IT ORDAINED ORDINANCE 2014-02 IS AMENDED AS FOLLOWS:
A NEW SECTION 3.3 IS ADDED TO THE ORDINANCE
The transfers from the County Treasury are suspended until such time as:
1) the state of New Mexico re-establishes a Safety Net Care Pool Fund, as required by
Section 27-5-6.1(A);
2) the state provides evidence that money in the Safety Net Care Pool Fund is
appropriated to the authority to make payments to qualifying hospitals and for no
other purpose, as required by Section 27-5-6.1(B);
3) the state demonstrates that no Safety Net Care Pool Fund payments or money in the
Safety Net Care Pool Fund shall be used to supplant any general fund support for the
state Medicaid program, as required by Section 27-5-6.1(B); and
4) that the funds in the Safety Net Care Pool fund are being used to make payments to
qualifying hospitals only in those Counties that are obligated by law to pay into the
Safety Net Care Pool Fund.
EFFECTIVE DATE
The 2025 amendment to Ordinance 2014-02 shall become effective when it is recorded and
authenticated by the Colfax County Clerk following adoption by the Board of County
Commissioners of Colfax County.
County Manager – Cheryl Navarette
manager@co.colfax.nm.us
P.O. Box 1498
Raton, New Mexico 87740
Office. 575-445-9661
Fax. 575-445-2902
www.co.colfax.nm.us
Board of
Commissioners
Dist. 1: Si Trujillo
Member
505-617-6893
strujillo@co.colfax.nm.us
Dist. 2: Mary Lou Kern
Vice Chair
505-617-6895
kern@co.colfax.nm.us
Dist. 3: Todd Tatum
Chairman
505-652-0039
ttatum@co.colfax.nm.us
County Manager – Cheryl Navarette
manager@co.colfax.nm.us
P.O. Box 1498
Raton, New Mexico 87740
Office. 575-445-9661
Fax. 575-445-2902
www.co.colfax.nm.us
ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF COLFAX COUNTY THIS DAY OF
_________2025.
Board of Commission of Colfax County, New Mexico
By ___________________________
Todd Tatum, Chairman
______________________________
Mary Lou Kern, Vice Chair
______________________________
Si Trujillo, Member
ATTEST:
________________________________
Sara Torres, County Clerk
COLFAX COUNTY ORDINANCE NO: 2025-04
AMENDING COLFAX COUNTY ORDINANCE NO: 2014-02
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR DEDICATION TO THE
SAFETY NET CARE POOL FUND
