More crime bills progress through Legislature

SANTA FE — The Senate Finance Committee swiftly passed legislation Tuesday to expand on the state’s Racketeering Act, which aims to stop organized crime that seeks economic gain.

Specifically, Senate Bill 70 would add human trafficking, sexual exploitation of children, criminal sexual contact and penetration, bringing contraband into imprisonment centers and dogfighting to the state’s Racketeering Act.

Senate Bill 70 is one of many crime-related bills Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she expects to make it to her desk.

The legislation initially included cockfighting, but bill sponsor Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, agreed to take that out since the crime isn’t a felony until its second or third offense.

“Anything that’s in the racketeering statute has to be a felony, and so being that cockfighting is not a felony in our state, ... it’s really a clean-up (amendment),” he said.

After hearing from a deputy police chief on how cockfighting can lead to other criminal activity, Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, tried to reinstate cockfighting as an addition to the Racketeering Act but failed.

“Racketeering laws are designed to target and dismantle criminal organizations by enabling law enforcement to prosecute a wide range of criminal actions that are part of larger criminal enterprises,” said Dale Wagoner, deputy chief with New Mexico State Police. “By broadening the scope of the offenses covered under the racketeering statute, the state can better address and penalize a broader spectrum of criminal activities, particularly those tied to organized crime.

“This expansion would strengthen New Mexico’s efforts to combat criminal organizations on multiple fronts, from traditional crimes like drug trafficking to emerging threats such as human trafficking and financial fraud.”

The committee also unanimously passed Senate Bill 18 criminalizing swatting, or falsely reporting an immediate threat to get a public safety team on the scene.