OPINION: NM bill paves the way for greater safety and fairness in parole

In the final 24 hours of the New Mexico legislative session, Senate Bill 375 was passed with strong bipartisan votes in both chambers — officially positioning the state as a national leader on a critical element of parole reform: fee elimination.

It may surprise some people to know that many states charge people service fees for their own parole, and that paying them is a condition of being successful on supervision; failure to do so may even be considered in decisions to revoke someone back to prison. These fees are not related to criminal fines for wrongdoings or restitution for victims. They are purely bureaucratic and are intended to raise revenue for the justice system. However, states often spend more money attempting to collect these fees than they receive in revenue.

And these fees are not insignificant. In New Mexico, a person on parole is charged between $25 and $150 per month, and up to $1,800 per year in parole service fees alone. That’s in addition to other financial obligations they may owe.

We think most people would agree that the most important thing a person can do on parole is remain crime-free and build a stable life outside of prison. Yet, by saddling people with financial burdens at such a critical moment for their community reintegration these fees have the opposite effect: They create a system in which success after incarceration is not just difficult but structurally discouraged. Studies show that imposing criminal fees increases the chance of reoffending, creating a cycle of incarceration instead of opportunity.

Many individuals on parole and probation come from low-income backgrounds, and a criminal record makes finding stable employment — one of the best tools against recidivism — even more difficult. Research shows that across the nation, two-thirds of people on probation make less than $20,000 per year, while nearly 38% make less than $10,000 per year. Parole and probation fees regressively tax those least able to pay them.

And being on community supervision is more common than you may think. According to one report, approximately 1 in every 75 people in America are on probation or parole. That’s millions of American adults — and over 13,000 in New Mexico — attempting to rebuild their lives in an environment that makes it needlessly difficult to do so.

With Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signing the bill into law this week, New Mexico is taking a stand to end these fee practices and the unintentional harm they create. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle — galvanized by bill sponsor Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas — came together to cut the red tape and give people a real shot at rebuilding their lives.

These monthly bureaucratic fees can now go to food, housing, education, transportation to work, health care and job training, all of which are critical to stabilizing lives and remaining employed. Financial relief is about survival, of course, but it’s also about creating a sense of belonging and quality of life, key factors in breaking the cycle of incarceration and building a stable future.

In a legislative session that saw less than 15% of filed legislation pass in both chambers, this is a major win for public safety-oriented criminal justice reform efforts and promises widespread positive effects for all New Mexicans.