House Bill 528

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] HIGH SCHOOL INTERNSHIP GRANT PROGRAM--ELIGIBILITY--AWARDS--DUTIES.--

          A. The "high school internship grant program" is created in the department to approve qualified internship programs and qualified host organizations and to award matching funds to provide paid internship opportunities for high school students in New Mexico.

          B. A host organization seeking to provide a paid internship position for a high school student shall apply to the department in the manner and on the forms required by the department. To become a qualified host organization, a host organization shall:

                (1) provide basic information regarding the host organization, including the industry, occupations of focus, size of the organization, locations at which interns shall be placed and other information requested by the department;

                (2) agree to provide a monetary contribution toward the cost of the internship, the exact amount of which shall be determined by the department based on the host organization size and ability to pay;

                (3) meet all readiness criteria, as established by the department in collaboration with the bureau; and

                (4) provide a list of available internship positions with essential tasks for the intern, hard and soft skills to be developed, intern work schedule and traits and interests of ideal candidates.

          C. An internship program seeking to participate in the high school internship grant program as a qualified internship program shall apply to the department in the manner and on the forms required by the department. To become a qualified internship program, an internship program shall:

                (1) provide basic information regarding the internship program, including the industries and occupations of focus, locations at which interns shall be placed, qualified host organizations with which the internship program plans to partner and prior experience in administering internships;

                (2) describe the programmatic elements that support interns, including classes, financial literacy training, coaching, career counseling, equipment, supplies, transportation, support services or other services; and

                (3) describe the payment structure for internships that the internship program administers, including the process for incorporating matching funds from the qualified host organization.

          D. Host organizations and internship programs shall apply no less than annually to be qualified by the department. The department may terminate qualified status for violations of this section and in accordance with department rules.

          E. The department shall award grants to qualified internship programs to fund internships that are sponsored by qualified host organizations and to help fund the costs of administration. Prior to awarding a grant, the qualified internship program shall enter into an agreement with the department that details the program, program requirements and the data that the qualified internship program shall provide in order to evaluate key metrics, which shall include, at minimum, completion rates, post-internship placement statistics, wages or other amounts paid to interns, demographic information of interns and qualified host organization satisfaction surveys. The qualified internship program shall require all interns to register with the department's online information system.

          F. A qualified internship program shall be responsible for placing interns with qualified host organizations, accepting complaints from interns and host organizations, arranging for payment of interns, accounting for matching funds and reporting on regularly agreed-upon intervals to the department.

          G. The department, in consultation with the bureau, shall promulgate rules necessary to administer the provisions of this section.

          H. By December 1 of each year, beginning in 2026, the department shall report to the appropriate interim legislative committee that deals with economic development. The report shall include key metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the high school internship grant program created pursuant to this section.

          I. As used in this section:

                (1) "bureau" means the college and career readiness bureau of the public education department;

                (2) "department" means the workforce solutions department;

                (3) "host organization" means a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company, a joint venture, a nonprofit organization or other similar legal entity qualified to do business in New Mexico; a state agency; a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or an agency thereof; a federal agency; a municipality; a political subdivision of the state; a school district; a tribal school district; a state-chartered charter school; or an institution of higher education; and

                (4) "internship program" means a program that recruits and manages internships for high school students that is operated by a nonprofit organization, a school district, a tribal school district, a state-chartered charter school, a state agency, a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or an agency thereof, a federal agency, a municipality, a political subdivision of the state or an institution of higher education.

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] HIGH SCHOOL INTERNSHIP GRANT PROGRAM FUND.--The "high school internship grant program fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of distributions, appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and income from investment of the fund. The workforce solutions department shall administer the fund. Money in the fund is appropriated to the workforce solutions department to award grants for the high school internship grant program and to administer the program pursuant to Section 1 of this 2025 act. Expenditures from the fund shall be by warrant of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of workforce solutions or the secretary's authorized representative.