Governor signs fast-tracked bills, urges lawmakers to find breakthrough on medical malpractice 

SANTA FE — For the second year in a row, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law a bushel of fast-tracked bills passed by state lawmakers during the opening stanza of a legislative session.

But whether those bills end up being the defining measures of this year's 30-day session or just an appetizer of what's yet to come remains unclear.

The governor voiced praise for legislators Thursday after signing four bills dealing with interstate medical compacts, road funding and prohibiting local contracts to run immigration detention facilities.

"It's shaping up for New Mexicans to be a really productive 30-day session," Lujan Grisham said during a ceremonial bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol.

Specifically, she said Senate Bill 1, the bill authorizing New Mexico to join an interstate compact for physicians, could help families like that of Michael Casaus and Naomi Natale of Albuquerque, who have had to travel out of state repeatedly to get medical care for their son, who was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in 2022.

"Nobody in New Mexico has ever treated this cancer before," Natale said during Thursday's news conference, while her two sons quietly watched. 

The family had also urged lawmakers to approve the compact legislation in previous years, but the bill had previously stalled due to concerns about data-sharing and transparency issues.

With its bipartisan approval, and the passage of a similar compact bill for social workers, New Mexico could become a member of three interstate compacts by the end of this year. The state is currently a member of just one such compact — one covering nurses. 

Meanwhile, the governor also indicated she expects lawmakers to send other key bills to her desk before the session ends Feb. 19.

In particular, Lujan Grisham cited a hotly debated push to overhaul New Mexico's medical malpractice laws as a top priority, saying she expects a bill that's already cleared one House committee to advance to the Senate.

"I'll be listening and watching, and I think we're going to have some work to do in the Senate," said the governor, who expressed concern about an amendment to House Bill 99, the bill pending in the House, that excludes corporate hospitals and hospital systems from a proposed cap on punitive damages in medical malpractice cases.

Medical malpractice fixes have emerged as a key issue during this year's session, amid a push from a broad coalition of groups concerned about a statewide health care provider shortage.

Getting a bill through both chambers of the Legislature is far from a given, however, as negotiations between hospital groups, trial lawyers and other involved parties recently broke down due to disagreement over how broad the punitive damages cap should be.

Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, expressed optimism a deal could still be struck, saying, "We're 90% of the way there on this bill, and that is a big deal."

But top-ranking Republicans have sounded a less-hopeful tune in recent days, while also saying other health care measures might not have their intended impact without changes to the medical malpractice system that hospitals say is prompting a steep rise in insurance costs. 

"Without the medical malpractice reform, the compacts aren't going to do us a lot of good," House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, said during Thursday's news conference.

Immigration bill impacts

After signing the measure barring New Mexico local governments from participating in the federal immigration detention system, Lujan Grisham said she believes the state should play a role in financially aiding the three counties impacted by the bill.

For instance, she said employees of the Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia, which is one of the three facilities that currently contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, could be offered work at the state-run Guadalupe County Correctional Facility in Santa Rosa, which is about 90 miles away.

"We'll reach out to those folks, because we don't want people to lose their jobs," Lujan Grisham said.

But she also cautioned that prisons and detention centers have "never really created stable economic development" in the state.

For his part, House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, cited a $6 million earmark in a House-approved budget bill for workforce training and economic development in the three counties — Torrance, Otero and Cibola — with ICE facilities that, combined, house roughly 1,000 detainees, according to bill sponsors.

However, he also said the immigration bill, House Bill 9, would not necessarily cause the three facilities to be shut down, refuting an argument made by some Republican legislators. Unlike the other bills signed Thursday, the immigration measure passed the Legislature on largely party-line votes, with most Democrats voting in favor and all GOP lawmakers voting in opposition.

The immigration bill also bars local police from collaborating with ICE, and Democratic lawmakers have argued the legislation ensures New Mexico will not assist with President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.

"We've got to be creative about economic development," Martínez said. "I mean, since when did it become acceptable to profit off the lives of innocent people held in deplorable conditions that none of us ... would allow our loved ones to live in?"

After being signed by the governor, the immigration legislation will take effect May 20.

What's not on the governor's wish list

With two weeks left in her final regular session as governor, Lujan Grisham made it clear she'd be happy to see some legislative proposals wither on the vine.

Specifically, the governor said she does not support a legislative effort to create a new appointed commission to run the state's beleaguered Children, Youth and Families Department.

When asked to explain her stance, the governor said other state agencies in her administration have been directed to do more to ensure at-risk children receive necessary support and said the push to "silo" CYFD would not be productive.

But even while opposing some bills, Lujan Grisham said she's faring better so far in her final 30-day session than some recent governors fared during their final sessions.

She also said she's hopeful the momentum continues as lawmakers tackle the budget bill, tax proposals and other key measures before adjourning.

"I'm assuming we're going to get a lot more done in the next two weeks," said Lujan Grisham.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.