STATE OF THE JUDICIARY – MORE MONEY NEEDED FOR COURT MODERNIZATION, SECURITY
Chief Justice David Thomson delivered the State of the Judiciary message to a joint session of the House and Senate today. The session was held in the House chambers, as are all joint sessions. The purpose of the message is for the chief justice, on behalf of all the courts in New Mexico, to inform legislators of the needs of the court system, principally financial. Here are highlights from Thomson’s presentation:
- Salary increases approved by the Legislature are working to attract more qualified candidates to apply for judicial positions.
- However, the lowest-paid employees are working for much less than members of the executive branch, often falling below a living wage and qualifying for public assistance. The court needs $14 million to address the wages of 1,400 employees (this doesn’t include judges or those making over $100K).
- There is an urgent need for $2.2 million in recurring appropriations to ensure jurors can be paid for their service.
- $25 million in one-time funding is needed to enhance courthouse security. Thomson relayed a very touching story from Gallup wherein well-trained court security personnel saved a young girl from a kidnapping.
- $3 million in funding is needed to help modernize courtroom technology to facilitate case management, data compilation and cybersecurity.
- The chief justice described pretrial detention of offenders as a balancing act between protecting constitutional rights and the need to protect the public. He reported an increase in pretrial detentions statewide, resulting from changes the Supreme Court made to pretrial detention standards.
- Behavioral health is a key concern of both the Legislature and the courts. A $3 million pilot program has been put into place to model assisted outpatient treatment. It’s too early to know results in total, but there have been some anecdotal success.
- Chief Justice Thomson concluded his remarks emphasizing the need to fund not only the courts but all the criminal justice partners including law enforcement, public defenders, jails and prosecutors.
House Judiciary Probes AOT and Civil Commitment
Many legislators are of the mind that channeling persons with mental health or substance abuse challenges into behavioral health treatment programs is preferable to involving such individuals in the criminal justice system. Often, however, there is difficulty in convincing the people affected to engage treatment. It’s widely acknowledged that increasing behavioral health resources is crucial, and we will likely see substantial appropriations made to begin addressing this issue. Yet, the problem of channeling folks in the right direction is also key.
The House Judiciary Committee received detailed briefings today by Chief Justice Thomson and his staff on the newly minted Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs as well as a detailed briefing by Megan Dorsey, staff attorney from the Speaker’s Office, on the law governing AOT. Brandon Cummings provided a detailed briefing on the law governing civil commitment, i.e. involuntary commitment.
A request to have a person ordered by the court to participate in assisted outpatient treatment can be initiated by a wide range of people, including family, doctors, mental health professionals, children, siblings and an adult familiar with the person. “Clear and convincing” evidence must be presented to the court, an evaluation by a mental health professional must be made, and the judge must then decide whether mandatory participation in a treatment program is warranted. The affected person, or patient, has a right to counsel and to an appeal. AOT programs are very much in the nascent stages, just getting off the ground in many places, and so there isn’t yet reliable evidence of how effective this kind of program can be. Thomson emphasized these programs will touch only a small slice of the population needing behavioral health treatment.
Cummings gave a rundown on involuntary commitment, which results in incarceration. While the process is similar to AOT, the standard is higher – clear and convincing evidence must be presented that the person is an immediate danger to themselves or others. Anyone can petition the court for a civil commitment, but it is often initiated by a police officer. A person may be committed for 72 hours for an evaluation and to see if their situation can be stabilized. If not, a commitment of 30 days is possible and, if needed, another six months and up to a year. Keep in mind this is a civil commitment, not a criminal commitment. The committee will get information on that at a later time.
Clearly, people want to see the safety of their communities improved while supporting the idea of getting help that may turn a person’s life around. Whether the laws governing AOT or civil commitment need changing to facilitate this goal is yet to be determined. It no doubt will be the topic of much consideration in the coming days.
INTRODUCING NEW LEGISLATORS
HOUSE
District 3: William Hall, R-San Juan
Rep. William Hall will continue to represent District 3, which covers eastern San Juan County. He was appointed April 3, 2024, to fill the seat left vacant by Rep. Ryan Lane’s resignation. He faced no opposition in the 2024 primary or general elections.
- Hall was sworn in during the 2024 special session.
- He served for 24 years as an FBI special agent and previously served as an officer in the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department.
- Hall is a political newcomer and describes himself as “pretty conservative.”
- He is a graduate of Farmington High School and New Mexico State University.
District 18: Marianna Anaya, D-Bernalillo
Rep. Marianna Anaya will represent District 18, which covers the Nob Hill area in Albuquerque. Anaya won her primary, was unopposed in the general election and replaced Majority Leader Gail Chasey, who served nearly 30 years before retiring from the Legislature after the 2024 session.
- Anaya is a community organizer and policy advocate.
- She is the owner of Anaya consulting and previously was the deputy director of Progress Now New Mexico and a field representative for then-U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
- She received her B.A. in Mexican American Studies from U.T. Austin and did graduate work at UCLA in Race and Ethnic Studies.
- Anaya is a native of the Albuquerque area, having graduated from Valley High School.
SENATE
District 12: Jay Block, R-Bernalillo and Sandoval
Jay Block, a former Sandoval County Commissioner, will represent District 12, which under redistricting was heavily redrawn from being primarily south of Interstate 40 to now include parts of Paradise Hills and Rio Rancho. He won the general election and replaced longtime Democratic Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, who retired after the 2024 session.
- Block served more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force as a nuclear weapons officer, where he had the honor of being trusted with the country’s nuclear codes. He volunteered for a combat tour in Afghanistan, commanded twice on foreign soil representing our country and retired from military service in 2016 as a lieutenant colonel.
- He has a master’s degree in international relations and is now a nuclear consultant and business developer.
- He was the first Republican to win his district’s seat on the Sandoval County Commission in history and was reelected in 2020.
District 13: Debbie O’Malley, D-Bernalillo
Democrat Debbie O’Malley, a former Albuquerque City Councilor and Bernalillo County Commissioner, will represent District 13, which now covers Bernalillo County’s North Valley area from south of Barelas up to El Pueblo. She defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill O’Neill in the primary and had no GOP opposition in the general election.
- Her family has deep roots in the community – in 1850, her great-great-grandfather established a mercantile shop in Old Town and later became the area’s postmaster.
- In 1998 she founded the Sawmill Community Land Trust, a not-for-profit community development corporation whose innovative redevelopment project has received national acclaim. She was the trust’s executive director from 1998 to 2003.
- In addition to City Council (2003-2010) and County Commission (2014-2022), O’Malley has served on the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, the Metropolitan Transportation Board and the Mid-Region Council of Governments.
AROUND THE ROUNDHOUSE
LANDING IN ROSWELL
On the Senate floor today, Sen. Jim Townsend (R-Eddy & Otero) and Sen. Candy Spence Ezzell (R-Chaves & Eddy) introduced several guests from Roswell, each of whom were instrumental in successfully attracting a huge air show and race to the Roswell Air Center. Townsend and Ezzell are both freshman senators but veteran House members.
The National Championship Air Races and Air Show (NCAR) is coming to the Roswell Air Center this September. The show has been held in Reno, Nev., for the last 60 years, and Roswell competed with three other cities for the honor of hosting the show moving forward.
And the Air Show isn’t just a lot of hot air: It will attract as many as 80,000 tourists to southeastern New Mexico, and the dollars that come with them. The show will be the largest tourist event the region has ever hosted and will bring excitement and revenue to restaurants, hotels and other businesses in the area. The show runs Sept. 10-14: Get your tickets here.
Last year the Chamber’s goodwill ambassadors, the Roadrunners, visited with Roswell chamber and city leaders, and the air show was high on their to-do list as a means of injecting visitor dollars into the economy. Kevin Eades, the Chamber’s Roadrunner chair, said, “the air show will show what southeastern New Mexico has to offer, and we congratulate the Roswell community and chamber for this amazing coup.”
SIGNING OFF FROM SANTA FE
The first week of the session is concluded, as neither chamber will be in session tomorrow. Most legislators will likely head home for the weekend. As for us, tomorrow is an important day. The board of directors will approve the 2025 Legislative Agenda. We’ll be sending that out tomorrow afternoon so that everyone can see the detailed positions we’ve taken on issues of vital concern to the business community. Thanks for joining us today and have a wonderful evening.
