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Governor sign 22 more bills into law
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As the weather warms up, reminding students and teachers summer is just around the corner, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also has a reminder for teachers: She wants the state to pay them more.
And she’s signed legislation intending to do just that.
Lujan Grisham inked her signature on an additional 22 bills Thursday, bringing her total count of signed legislation so far to 157. She didn’t veto anything, but anything she doesn’t sign or veto after Friday gets pocket vetoed.
There are still three dozen bills waiting for action on the governor’s desk.
In addition to raising New Mexico’s minimum teacher salary to $55,000, Lujan Grisham signed seven other education-related bills, including one attempting to curb distraction in schools.
The new law, which started out as a bill incentivizing cellphone bans in schools, requires school districts and charter schools to adopt policies around cellphones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops and gaming devices by August.
Other signed education bills include licensure changes and a measure protecting Hispanic education.
Lujan Grisham also signed a bill revising the state’s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act program, moving its oversight away from the Children, Youth and Families Department to the Health Care Authority and requiring safe care plans for families with babies who have been exposed to drugs.
Some governance bills also got the governor’s signature, including a measure barring state employees from intentionally sharing sensitive information outside of that state agency, save for certain circumstances.
The law specifically includes the protection of immigration status information, an issue that arose amid mass deportations happening under the Trump administration. It protects other personal information, too, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, medical conditions and disabilities.
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This year was the first time a bill to increase oil and gas royalty rates made it to the governor’s desk. After the bill died again in 2024, State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard stopped leasing out the best oil and gas land in the state until the Legislature raised the rate cap from 20% to 25%.
“Raising the rate was always the right thing to do, but like with many great things it took some time and a lot of work to make it happen,” Garcia Richard said in a statement Thursday.
Also signed Thursday were the Community Benefit Fund, a pot of money available for projects supporting clean energy and reducing air pollution, and a natural disaster revolving fund.
Editor's note 4/11/25 11:30 a.m.: This article has been corrected to reflect the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act program moving to the Health Care Authority's oversight.
