After last year's deadlock, governor says she's hopeful for bipartisan breakthrough on crime bills

SANTA FE — With some bills already moving at the Roundhouse, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday she’s hopeful a bipartisan package of anti-crime measures will hit her desk by mid-February.

Flanked by law enforcement officials and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, the governor pushed back on suggestions she had not previously prioritized crime issues since taking office in 2019.

She also said she does not agree that New Mexico’s high violent crime rate is due more to a lack of enforcement of existing laws than a need for tougher laws, a position some lawmakers have articulated.

“Frankly, even if that was true, we have a crisis,” Lujan Grisham said. “And you better do everything in your power to address that crisis, otherwise, I don’t know how you look families in the eye.”

More than 40 bills dealing with crime and criminal penalties have already been filed since the start of New Mexico’s 60-day legislative session and some lawmakers say there’s a greater sense of urgency to address the issue this year amid a spike of violent crimes involving juvenile offenders.

Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, who plans to file about 10 crime-related bills, credited Lujan Grisham with “lighting a fire” under legislators to address the issue.

And Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, applauded the governor for working with Republicans and Democrats alike on public safety issues.

“Crime is all over this state,” Brandt said during Tuesday’s news conference. “It’s no longer just an Albuquerque problem and I’m tired of hearing that.”

However, some groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union-New Mexico, have pushed back against the push for stiffer criminal penalties, saying lawmakers should focus instead on preventive measures.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said Tuesday that violent crime overall appears to be trending down in New Mexico.

But he said violent juvenile crime is “out of control,” saying 25 defendants under age 18 are currently detained and facing murder charges in New Mexico.

Lujan Grisham said many bills have been improved since a special session last summer that ended with the Democratic-controlled Legislature not taking action on most of her crime-focused agenda.

“What came to light is none of us, including my office, were really looking at the data about what was happening in our communities,” the governor said.

A turning tide on crime bills?

After last year’s special session deadlock, lawmakers appear to be moving quickly on some crime-related bills this year.

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to discuss five bills in a Wednesday hearing, including a proposal that would make it a capital felony for anyone convicted of selling fentanyl to another person who dies of an overdose.

Capital felonies under New Mexico law include first-degree murder and are punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Lujan Grisham on Tuesday described the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, as a “powerful” proposal.

She also indicated her support for a bill, House Bill 4, that would change New Mexico’s judicial procedures for cases involving defendants with mental illness.

Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, the bill’s sponsor, said voluntary treatment is still preferable for defendants who are willing to seek it, but said some individuals need a “push” to get help.

“I feel confident that it’s the right approach to address the concerns we’ve all been hearing since the summer,” Chandler said during Tuesday’s news conference.

The bill was being debated late Tuesday in its first assigned House committee.

Behavioral health system fixes on the move

With less than two years left in her tenure as New Mexico governor, Lujan Grisham is staking much of her remaining political capital on her crime-focused agenda.

But the governor has also expressed an openness to expanding New Mexico’s behavioral health system for individuals with mental illness or substance abuse disorders.

Top-ranking Senate Democrats have said they plan to quickly move a package of bills on the issue, including a proposal for a $1 billion behavioral health trust fund.

That package of bills is scheduled for its first hearing Wednesday in the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee.

“We aren’t going to vilify poverty or mental health issues,” Lujan Grisham said. “But we aren’t going to tolerate ... criminality anywhere in the state.”