New Mexico special legislative session to focus on public safety initiatives
FILE - New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at Arcosa Wind Towers, Aug. 9, 2023, in Belen, N.M. On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, New Mexico’s Democratic governor announced plans for a mid-summer special legislative session that focuses on public safety after a long list initiatives related to crime languished during the standard annual session. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Democratic governor on Wednesday announced a mid-summer special legislative session on public safety that may delve into concerns about homeless encampments, panhandling and mental health treatment after many crime initiatives have languished.
The Legislature delivered on a handful of the governor’s major public safety priorities during a regular 30-day legislative session in January and February. But a long list of other gun control and public safety bills stalled without floor votes.
In an emailed statement, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she will call legislators back to Santa Fe on July 18 “to finish what they started during the 30-day legislative session.”
Lujan Grisham has recently expressed interest in responses to homeless encampments and addiction that would allow judges to order criminal defendants with acute mental health or substance-abuse problems into treatment programs, or adapt civil proceedings to commit people to treatment where family members are unable to intervene.
She also has signaled support for legislative proposals running the gamut from new restrictions on panhandling along busy thoroughfares to increased criminal penalties for felons in possession of a firearm.
“The best proposals for making our state safer will be under consideration, and I welcome input from my colleagues in the legislature,” Lujan Grisham said Wednesday in a statement.
Discussions between the governor and legislative leadership have focused on legally complex bills regarding panhandling, court-ordered mental health treatment and penalties for felons in possession of a firearm, said Democratic Senate Majority Leaders Peter Wirth of Santa Fe.
“We will also focus on finding ways to expand the critical safety net of mental health and treatment services that are vital to the success of the legislation that will be considered,” Wirth said.
Lawmakers have agreed additional bills on gun safety and pre-trial detention procedures will wait until next year, he said.
Lujan Grisham recently signed public safety bills that ban some guns at voting locations, extend a waiting period on gun purchases to seven days, enhance penalties for second-degree murder-related offenses, and give judges an extra opportunity to deny bail to defendants who are charged with new crimes while already awaiting trial on a felony.
But she also has delivered a grim assessment of progress against violent crime and warned that “I don’t think it’s safe out there” as the Legislature adjourned in February.
Lujan Grisham declared a public health emergency over gun violence last year, suspending the right to carry guns in some parks and playgrounds in the greater Albuquerque area, in response to a spate of shootings there that killed children.
Republican lawmakers have argued that the governor wasn’t addressing the true causes of violence, but rather seeking to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens. They recently urged the governor to address crime and security at the border with Mexico — traditionally the responsibility of the federal government. Lujan Grisham rebuffed the suggestion.
“Democrats are totally to blame for New Mexico’s out-of-control crime,” New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said in a statement Wednesday. “They need to explain why public safety wasn’t their priority during the previous legislative session despite holding a majority in both chambers of the state legislature.”
The summer session will unfold as the entire House and Senate are up for election in November, after the state’s June 4 primary. Lujan Grisham cannot run for reelection in 2026 at the end of her second term.