It’s only July, but welcome back to the Legislative RoundUp, where once again we will be bringing you the news and views from the New Mexico Legislature – this time from the second session of the 56th Legislature, scheduled to begin at noon Thursday, July 18.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is flexing her constitutional muscle in calling this “special” session, bringing lawmakers to the Roundhouse from every corner of the state to focus on the issue of public safety. The governor is right to believe, like we do, that continued high crime does reputational damage to New Mexico and impedes both economic growth and quality of life – for residents and businesses alike. For much of the last 10 years, New Mexicans have identified crime as one of their most significant concerns, and by calling a special session on the topic, the governor plans to put a major spotlight on the issue – in an election year, no less, when all 112 lawmakers’ seats will appear on voters’ ballots.
In past 30- and 60-day sessions, the Legislature has routinely avoided passing anti-crime legislation, with many bills getting bottled up in one committee or another and never even considered for an up-or-down vote on the floor of either the House or Senate. Powerful special interests opposed to taking a strong stand against criminals are well represented in the state capitol and are active in state politics. Last year, the Chamber dubbed public safety the “forgotten issue” of the regular legislative session, as bills designed to address violent crime, detain serious offenders in jail, stop fentanyl trafficking, and strengthen crime-fighting statutes all failed to be even meaningfully discussed.
So, as the governor puts the focus on such an important issue to the public, the key question as we start this special session is: How will the Legislature respond? Will members agree to hear the handful of bills the governor is proposing, or will they leave the Roundhouse, claiming the problem should be left to another day to solve (and in some cases, questioning whether a problem exists at all)?
At this moment, the forecast is dismal. The Democratic governor and Democratic leadership in the Legislature appear divided. On Monday, they held dueling press conferences, with House and Senate leaders questioning the need for and the ability of the Legislature to address public safety issues and the governor not backing down in her plan to force the state to adopt new crime laws. Republican lawmakers are proposing their own bills, to include topics like drug trafficking penalties and border security. Left-leaning special interest organizations have chimed in to try to stop the session from going forward (this group includes criminal defense attorneys and advocates who have fought for years to prevent the incarceration of offenders and the imposition of ordinances that might impact those who are homeless). Meanwhile, law enforcement leaders, mayors, business organizations, and the public – from Albuquerque and across the state – continue to urge state leaders to act and believe the time is now to make New Mexico a tougher place to commit crimes.
It is important to note there has indeed been time to find, and prepare, common ground to better fight crime in the Land of Enchantment. The governor has never hid her intention to deal with public safety issues this summer (given the historic inability of the Legislature to deal with these issues during regular sessions). Lujan Grisham said on Feb. 15 as the regular session wound down that a special public safety session was being considered. And on the morning of April 17 she announced there would be a special session on crime – the same day the Albuquerque Journal, KOAT-TV and radio station KKOB hosted a two-hour panel on the topic featuring Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, Sheriff John Allen and state Attorney General Raúl Torrez. The governor said then “the special session in July will enable us to deliver additional statutory changes that reduce the danger and risk New Mexico communities face every day. The best proposals for making our state safer will be under consideration, and I welcome input from my colleagues in the Legislature.”
The certainty of a special session was cemented three full months ago. Yet here we are, with lawmakers and advocates asking for more time.
House Speaker Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, said Monday the condensed nature of a special session can’t deliver effective solutions. Majority Floor Leader Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said the Legislature is “just not there” when it comes to finding solutions on the governor’s proposals. And Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said “while we agree with the governor on the urgency of these important goals, we cannot in good faith pass legislation that could very well end up having a detrimental impact on the communities we serve.”
For much of the public, these kinds of comments simply don’t add up. For example, it’s hard to fathom how legislation designed to take gun-wielding felons off the streets, improve median safety on roadways, collect more crime incident data statewide, and prevent severely mentally ill defendants from committing additional crimes would “have a detrimental impact on the communities we serve,” as Sen. Stewart noted. The public certainly believes these kinds of bills would help the situation. And the public – not organized special interest groups – is the “community” our legislators serve.
On July 14, GACC Chairman Del Esparza, president and CEO Terri Cole and State Legislative Affairs Chairman Sherman McCorkle wrote in the Albuquerque Journal that “we at the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce strive to make ‘our city and state a great place to start and grow a business, and a safe, exciting place to work and raise a family.’ It’s our mission statement, on our website and in our Plan of Action. But when crime is out of control, as it has been for too many years in Albuquerque and across our state, that goal can too often seem like Mission: Impossible.”
On July 15, they wrote in the Santa Fe New Mexican that “New Mexicans are long tired of crime and hungry for positive action, and (the governor’s bills), unanimously endorsed by our board of directors, can improve public safety, and in the constraints of a special session if they don’t get watered down in the legislative process.”
And in an interview in the Journal the same day, Cole explained “the public safety issue in our city and state is so severe that we should be doing everything we can to improve the situation for residents and businesses.”
