Crime package passes Senate, after Democrats beat back Republican amendments

SANTA FE — A high-profile package of crime bills is on the verge of heading to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk for final approval.

After nearly four hours of debate, the Senate voted 38-3 on Friday to endorse the measure, which passed the House of Representatives last weekend.

However, the bill must still go back to the House before going to the governor’s desk, since the Senate tacked on several largely technical amendments before approving it.

“This is not anything but a step in the right direction, but it’s a good step,” Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said during Friday’s debate.

The crime package is a compilation of six different bills that were folded into a single proposal. The package includes bills dealing with fentanyl trafficking, school shooting threats and auto theft, and has been fast-tracked by top legislative Democrats in response to the governor’s call for more action on public safety issues.

The governor has expressed support for the legislation, House Bill 8, while urging lawmakers to also pass other public safety proposals during the final weeks of the 60-day legislative session.

During Friday’s floor debate, Republican senators tried to expand the crime package by proposing a series of amendments. The amendments would have expanded the state’s serious youthful offender law, changed the penalty for possession of a stolen firearm and made “swatting,” or directing law enforcement to respond to invented threats, a crime.

But those proposed changes were thwarted by majority Democrats, with Cervantes arguing they should be vetted in legislative committees before being attached to a bill nearing final passage.

Most Republicans ended up voting in favor of the crime package, even though they said it does not go far enough.

Sen. Larry Scott of Hobbs was the lone Senate Republican to vote against the package, joining Democrats Antonio “Moe” Maestas of Albuquerque and Shannon Pinto of Tohatchi in casting “no” votes.

“My concern is that I’m voting on a crime package that doesn’t actually reduce crime,” Scott said. “Our constituents are wanting us to do better.”

New Mexico’s violent crime rate was almost twice the national average in 2023, and Lujan Grisham has urged lawmakers to pass a number of crime-related proposals during this year’s session.

But Cervantes and other lawmakers cited legislative data showing the state’s clearance rate for solving violent crimes has dropped steadily over the last decade.

Given that background, Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, called on law enforcement agencies and the state’s judicial branch to better enforce the laws already on New Mexico’s books, citing a recent DWI scandal in Albuquerque that allegedly involved police officers not showing up for court hearings in return for bribes.

Meanwhile, the Senate debate on Friday also featured several lawmakers sharing personal stories.

Sen. James Townsend, R-Artesia, said several senators have had their vehicles broken into since the session started last month.

He also had sharp words for New Mexico’s largest city, saying, “It is common knowledge that you visit Albuquerque at your own risk today,” Townsend said.

But some senators also expressed unease with proposals in the bill that could lead to longer prison sentences.

Specifically, Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, voiced concern about a provision that would allow judges to impose longer sentences for individuals convicted of possessing large amounts of fentanyl, saying it could criminalize drug addicts.

“If the goal here is to stop fentanyl deaths, I don’t know that these approaches are necessarily going to be the silver bullet,” she said.