Senate approves behavioral health package on bipartisan vote, sends bills to House

SANTA FE — A sweeping plan to overhaul New Mexico’s mental health and substance abuse treatment system is headed to the state House with bipartisan momentum.

The Senate voted Friday to approve three bills establishing a new behavioral health trust fund and requiring regional plans for crisis triage units, mobile responders and more.

The package of bills, Senate Bills 1, 2 and 3, passed with broad support, two of them on 37-5 votes and the third on a similar 37-4 vote. Most of the “no” votes were cast by Republican senators.

“This is a huge change from the way we’ve done things in the past,” said Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, during Friday’s debate.

This year’s push comes more than a decade after former Gov. Susana Martinez upended New Mexico’s behavioral system in 2013, freezing Medicaid funding to 15 providers over fraud and overbilling. All the accused providers were later cleared of wrongdoing.

Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, said the Martinez administration had “decimated” the state’s behavioral health system, a claim many Democratic lawmakers have also made in recent years.

“Today, we’re here to do what’s right to fix a problem,” Block said.

Behavioral health has emerged as a key issue during the 60-day legislative session that will reach its halfway point next week, as lawmakers look for ways to reduce violent crime, homelessness and drug use.

New Mexico has one of the nation’s highest suicide rates, and more than one-third of state residents reported anxiety or a depressive disorder in 2023, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data.

During Friday’s debate, several senators spoke about their own families’ experiences with mental health and addiction issues.

Sen. Martin Hickey, D-Albuquerque, mentioned his children’s sobriety struggles, saying, “Rare is a family that doesn’t have this, and it cuts across all spectrums.”

Sen. Liz Stefanics, D-Cerrillos, estimated half of New Mexicans will at some point come into contact with the state’s behavioral health system, either due to mental health or substance abuse issues.

“We know there’s a vast population,” Stefanics said.

Governor largely on board with plan

Under the plan approved Friday, the state judiciary would take on a larger role in approving regional behavioral health plans, while the state Health Care Authority would remain in charge of overseeing funding.

That would be a significant change from the current system, which largely falls under the executive branch’s jurisdiction.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently expressed misgivings about the judicial branch’s readiness to shoulder a heavier oversight role.

But the Governor’s Office indicated Friday those concerns have largely been resolved after negotiations with legislators and Supreme Court Chief Justice David Thomson.

Meanwhile, some changes were also made to the behavioral health package before the full Senate vote, including removing a $1 billion appropriation for the new proposed trust fund.

Money for the new fund is now expected to be provided in a separate budget bill during this year’s 60-day session, though Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said it’s unlikely the appropriation will end up hitting the $1 billion mark this year.

While most senators expressed support for the trust fund plan, Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, said the money should be put to work now instead of set aside for future use.

“We have a permanent income stream — it’s called taxes,” Maestas said.

Bipartisan support gradually cultivated

The push to reshape New Mexico’s behavioral health system has created unlikely political partnerships, including Block working with Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, on amendments to the package.

In addition, the chamber’s Democratic and Republican floor leaders — Wirth and Sen. William Sharer of Farmington — teamed up on one of the bills in the package.

Work on the package began in earnest after a special session called last year by Lujan Grisham ended with the Democratic-controlled Legislature largely ignoring the governor’s crime-focused agenda.

Several legislators, staffers and city leaders traveled to Miami last year, along with behavioral health advocates, to tour a Miami-Dade County diversion program that has drawn accolades for its success.

Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, cited those site visits on the Senate floor Friday, saying the state has seen little return after spending almost $2.4 billion on behavioral health programs over the last three years.

In addition, the state’s behavioral health collaborative has not met in over one year and does not have an appointed director.

“We haven’t seen the needle move ... we haven’t seen that change in New Mexico,” Muñoz said.

He and other senators said the new approach holds promise in a state with high rates of poverty, drug overdose deaths and mental illness.

Sen. Angel Charley, D-Acoma Pueblo, said those problems are particularly acute among the state’s Native American population.

“With the passage of this legislation, I can go home and look my people in the eye and tell them resources are coming,” said Charley.