Governor suggests special session not imminent, but says juvenile gun crime still a concern

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday she still plans to push lawmakers to overhaul New Mexico’s juvenile crime laws, but indicated a special session on the issue is not imminent.

During a news conference at the state Capitol, the governor said she’d held talks with Democratic leaders in the House and Senate and planned to continue negotiations.

Those talks have occurred since Lujan Grisham said on March 22, the final day of this year’s 60-day legislative session, that she planned to call lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session after no bills dealing with juvenile crime or firearm restrictions were sent to her desk for final approval.

“I’m still feeling like that’s really necessary, particularly after the devastating tragedy in Las Cruces,” Lujan Grisham said Tuesday, referring to the March 21 shooting at a popular park that left three people dead and many others injured.

She also said more sleep and coffee since the session’s end have led to more measured thinking on the issues, but added, “I’m as concerned as I was then.”

Specifically, Lujan Grisham said she would like to see a legislative interim committee that studies crime and court-related issues begin work shortly on a possible fix to New Mexico’s juvenile offender laws. Such interim committees typically do not start meeting until several months after the end of a legislative session.

Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, who also attended Tuesday’s news conference at the Governor’s Office, said he largely agreed with the governor’s assessment of the situation.

But he cautioned against calling a special session before lawmakers and the Governor’s Office can reach an agreement on the issues in question.

“We’ve certainly got a road map for how to do it and how not to do it,” Wirth said, referring to a special session last summer that ended with the Democratic-controlled Legislature adjourning without taking action on the governor’s crime-related agenda.

However, last year’s special session did prompt lawmakers to start work on a bill dealing with mental competency in court cases that was approved during this year’s session and subsequently signed into law in February.

Wirth said the same methodical blueprint could be repeated this year, while acknowledging that legislators have not updated New Mexico’s children’s code for juvenile offenders in years.

“That’s something that does need to be worked through, and I appreciate certainly the governor’s passion and desire to move this forward,” Wirth said.

While New Mexico’s overall violent crime and property crime rates have decreased in recent years, juvenile crime rates have gone up.

There was a 57% increase in cases involving juvenile criminal defendants from 2022 to 2023, according to data from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office.

Several recent cases have prompted public outrage, including the Las Cruces shooting and the arrest of three juvenile suspects — including an 11-year-old boy — in connection with the May 2024 death of 63-year-old Scott Habermehl in Northeast Albuquerque.

Habermehl was biking to work when he was struck by a stolen vehicle. The three boys arrested in the case allegedly recorded a cellphone video in which they discussed intentionally hitting Habermehl.

During Tuesday’s news conference, Lujan Grisham specifically cited incidents of juvenile offenders who have proceeded to commit other violent crimes after being released.

“I have an obligation to the rest of New Mexico that that cannot knowingly be done,” she said.

The governor, who is barred under the state Constitution from seeking a third consecutive term next year, also said the state’s current juvenile code does not adequately address the recent uptick in gun-related crime among youthful offenders.

“We do not have a body of law that takes these issues into consideration,” Lujan Grisham said.