Steady rise in state civil rights claims draws lawmakers' attention

SANTA FE — The amount of money paid out by a New Mexico state agency in response to civil rights claims has steadily increased since enactment of a 2021 law that allowed such cases to be filed in state court.

The rise in settlement payouts — from $6.3 million during the 2022 budget year to nearly $33.4 million last year — has prompted some lawmakers to express concern.

“This is going to be a drain on New Mexico if we don’t get a handle on it,” Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, said during a Legislative Finance Committee hearing last week.

Muñoz also said the “astronomical” rise in settlement costs could potentially impact state education spending in future years, among other impacts.

The rise in civil rights claims — and related payouts — has occurred after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2021 signed into law the state Civil Rights Act, a measure that was prompted by protests against racism and police misconduct following the death of George Floyd a year earlier.

The legislation was opposed at the time of its approval by New Mexico cities and counties, along with some law enforcement officials, who expressed concern it could expose taxpayers to expensive settlements and lead to higher insurance costs.

Prior to lawmakers approving the 2021 law, lawsuits alleging civil rights violations in New Mexico could only be filed in federal court, not in state court.

The new law also eliminated qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that law enforcement officers can claim when accused of possible misconduct. But it only allows lawsuits to be filed against public bodies, not against individual police officers or state employees.

Grace Philips, the risk management director for the New Mexico Association of Counties, said the law has led to most civil rights cases being filed in state court, instead of federal court.

She also said settled claims have become more costly due to provisions in the law allowing for attorney’s fees and an escalating cap on damages that’s linked to inflation.

Specifically, the amount of money incurred from law enforcement claims paid by the New Mexico county self-insurance pool increased from about $10 million in 2020 to nearly $27.2 million in 2023, Philips said.

Anna Silva, the acting director of the state General Services Department, told lawmakers during last week’s hearing that civil rights claims were also contributing to an overall increase in insurance premiums paid by state agencies.

Specifically, the premiums paid to the state Risk Management Division for civil rights violations coverage increased from about $10.7 million in the 2022 budget year to roughly $20.5 million last year, according to GSD data.

“We have doctors leaving our state and we have attorneys moving into our state because of our laws,” Silva told legislators. “That’s something we live, breathe and deal with every single day.”

However, former House Speaker Brian Egolf, a Santa Fe Democrat, expressed skepticism about some of the criticisms levied at the Civil Rights Act.

Egolf, who pushed for the 2021 law, said attorney’s fees can also be recovered in federal civil rights cases.

He also questioned whether some settlements classified as civil rights claims on the state Sunshine Portal actually stem from violations of other state laws, such as the New Mexico Human Rights Act.

“I think there needs to be a lot more evidence to support counties and cities’ claims on this,” Egolf told the Journal.

The state Sunshine Portal shows that many civil rights claims filed on the state level involve the Corrections Department.

That includes a $285,000 settlement to resolve a lawsuit filed by the family of Katherine Paquin, who was killed by a man mistakenly released from prison early.

The state Supreme Court this year issued a pair of rulings clarifying the scope of the Civil Rights Act, including a July ruling that venue shopping, or filing court cases in a different location, is not allowable.