On February 15, the New Mexico House of Representatives voted 48-20 on an omnibus crime package of six bills intended to reduce crime. Nine Republicans, including all House GOP leaders, voted in favor of the bill, despite saying it doesn’t go far enough. Three Democrats voted against the package. The omnibus crime package will be sent to the Senate for further committee hearings with Senators deciding whether to make changes to the package before its voted on by the full senate for passage and sending it Governor for signature to become law.
The six house bills embodied in House Bill 8 are:
House Bill 4 would give prosecutors more options to involuntarily commit people into a locked psychiatric facility if they are found to be dangerous to themselves or others and unable to stand trial.
House Bill 16 would increase sentences for trafficking fentanyl, depending on how many pills the defendant is convicted of possessing.
House Bill 31 would more severely punish the crime of threatening to shoot people by increasing the attached penalty from a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum possible jail sentence between six months and one year, to a fourth-degree felony, which comes with 18 months in prison.
House Bill 38 would ban devices that can convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones.
House Bill 50 would group together the sentences for four different crimes related to stealing motor vehicles. State law already requires longer prison terms if someone commits one of these crimes on multiple occasions, but HB 50 would make subsequent convictions carry greater sentences for having violated any of the four statutes.
The link to the relied upon and quoted news source material is here:
https://sourcenm.com/2025/02/12/crime-package-headed-to-new-mexico-house/
REACTIONS TO PASSAGE
House Bill 8 sponsor Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos said this about its passage:
“The public wants this. …. People want us to be addressing public safety.”
Governor Lujan Grisham said in a statement that the passage of the bill is an important step forward, but the work isn’t finished, urging legislators to pass other public safety legislation. The Governor said this:
“Get these public safety bills to my desk now — our communities deserve real protection, not more excuses.”
The link to the relied upon and quoted news source material is here:
OTHER SEPARATE LEGISLATION STILL PENDING
More than 40 bills dealing with crime and criminal penalties have been filed since the start of New Mexico’s 60-day legislative session. Following are a few of the major bills introduced:
- Senate Bill 32: Creates it a fourth-degree felony of possession of a stolen firearm.
- Senate Bill 70: Amending it a state racketeering law to include human trafficking and other crimes.
- House Bill 165: Making it easier to hold defendants accused of certain violent crimes in jail until trial.
- House Bill 166: Increase the criminal penalty for convicted felons in possession of a firearm.
- Senate Bill 166: Changing the definition of dangerousness in state’s laws dealing with involuntary commitment for individuals with mental illness.
- Senate Bill 95: Making it a capital crime to sell fentanyl to anyone who subsequently dies due to an overdose.
Separate legislation under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee but not included in the adopted crime package include:
House Bill 86, which would remove the statute of limitations for prosecuting a human trafficking offense.
House Bill 106 would allow police officers to test someone’s blood for drugs or alcohol if they refuse to take a breath test and the police have probable cause to believe they committed a misdemeanor. Existing law only allows police to test someone’s blood when they drive under the influence and either kill or seriously injure someone, or when they drive impaired and the officer has probable cause to believe they also committed a felony while doing so.
House Bill 12 is headed to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. It would create an alternative process for police officers to ask a judge for an Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order, if a reporting party isn’t available or doesn’t want to be involved.
REACTION TO ENACTMENT OF HOUSE BILL 8
House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Christine Chandler sponsor of House Bill 8 said the six bills were rolled into one in response to public interest. Chandler said this:
“Our commitment to the public [is] to address crime swiftly. … We are doing that through a collection of bills that I think are very meaningful and impactful.
A public safety coalition composed of 11 civic organizations issued a statement with comments it said would have been delivered had public comments been allowed in the House Judiciary Committee hearing. The coalition includes NM Native Vote, Equality New Mexico, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless.
In a released statement, the public safety coalition said members appreciated the collaborative work done to address their concerns about the criminal competency proposals, but said the final bill fails to address root causes and instead “focuses on new crimes, increased punishments, and forced hospitalization.” Chandler for her part said no public comments were allowed because each bill within the package had already been through the public comment process.
In a statement, ACLU-NM Interim Director of Public Policy Lena Weber said this:
“The caucus proposals are wrapped up into HB8 now depart starkly from those championed by these community voices. While the proposal makes significant improvements from the proposals of the 2024 special session, HB8 still relies principally on coerced care and forced hospitalization, which we know often exacerbate the very problems they seek to fix.”
The link to the relied upon and quoted news source material is here:
https://sourcenm.com/2025/02/12/crime-package-headed-to-new-mexico-house/
REPUBLICAN OPPOSTION
House Republicans severely criticized the six-bill package as “window dressing” that falls short of New Mexicans’ expectations for addressing high violent crime rates. House Minority Whip Alan Martinez, R-Bernalillo said this:
“We need common sense solutions that are actually going to impact the crime that we see every day.”
Much of the GOP criticism focused on House Democrats’ decision not to include a bipartisan bill dealing with juvenile criminal offenders in the crime package.
Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, a former prosecutor, accused Democrats of blocking the bill’s progress despite support from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman. Reeb said this:
“I feel that Democrats just don’t want to include it and don’t want to listen to it at this point.”
Rep. Nicole Chavez (R-Albuquerque) said she voted against the package because it doesn’t go far enough and it does not t include her proposed changes to the Delinquency Act. That act governs how the state can hold children accountable for behavior that would be considered criminal if they were over 18. Rep. Nicole Chavez said this:
“I am in favor of most of the bills in here if not all maybe just other than one concern and so I just I just don’t feel like it goes far enough to address crime in the state.”
DISAPPOINTMENT EXPRESSED
House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Christine Chandler expressed disappointment about the Republican opposition to the package. She pointed out that several bills in the package, including a measure making it easier for law enforcement to get blood samples of motorists suspected of drugged driving, were filed by Republican lawmakers. In addition to the drugged driving proposal, the crime package also includes bills dealing with fentanyl trafficking, vehicle theft, school shooting threats and how New Mexico treats criminal defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial. Chandler said this:
“We had expected bipartisan support, based on our consultations.”
CRIMINAL COMPETENCY LAW
One of the big issues being highlighted in the 2025 legislative session is a revision to the state’s criminal competency laws. House Bill 8 will expand the evaluation process to allow judges to make a case-by-case review for suspects accused of certain serious crimes. They would have to go through a mental health hearing to determine if they are competent to stand trial and if they are dangerous. If a defendant is deemed incompetent and considered to be dangerous to themselves or others, then they can be involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility. A hearing will be held 90 days later to check if they can stand trial.
Rep. Christine Chandler (D – Los Alamos), the sponsor of House Bill 8 said this:
“… [W] here the individual is deemed not dangerous and not competent…we have expanded the opportunities to work with individual.”
GOVERNOR LUJAN GRISHAM REACTS
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has urged lawmakers to pass a slew of bills related to public safety during this year’s session. Governor Lujan Grisham said this:
“I support these bills and appreciate the House’s quick work on this public safety package — but New Mexicans are demanding more. Bills still pending in the Senate would address violent crime, gun crimes and serious issues related to juvenile offenders, but most are not yet scheduled for hearings. … I hope the Senate will hear these bills soon and help us produce the most comprehensive and effective public safety package possible.”
Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:
https://sourcenm.com/briefs/house-judiciary-approves-two-public-safety-bills-over-the-weekend/
https://www.koat.com/article/public-safety-package-advances-to-the-senate/63807723
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/courts/article_740fc010-ea43-11ef-a3b8-33c616cb4192.html
JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORMS
House Bill 8 consisting of the public safety package of six bills passed does not contain any legislation to address juvenile justice reform. During the House floor debate of the six bill crime package, Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, was the first Republican member to debate the bill and immediately introduced a bill substitute, saying “The public wants more. … Democrats should continue to embrace doing even more”. Her efforts were quickly shot down.
Reeb tried to include a Youthful Delinquency Act with more severe penalties in the crime package and her effort failed. Rep. Nicole Chavez, R-Albuquerque, whose son was shot in a drive-by shooting in 2015, said this:
“When we leave juvenile crime out of this crime package, we send a dangerous message that accountability has an age limit.”
Democratic lawmakers have said they are still planning to debate juvenile justice reforms this session. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Christine Chandler said the juvenile offender bill embodied in House Bill 134 could still advance during this year’s 60-day session. Chandler said this:
“To rush a delinquency statute that hasn’t been vetted by any committee yet is doing the community and the public a disservice. … Are we open to that bill? Yes, of course we are. … It wasn’t included [in the omnibus package] because, unlike all the bills that were included, it has not gone through the committee process. … We have to be very thoughtful about how we approach young people in the criminal justice system.”
Chandler said the proposed changes to the Delinquency Act was inappropriate to be included House Bill 8 because it has not been heard in any committee yet, while every bill in this package had already been discussed.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman has been lobbying lawmakers to pass sweeping juvenile justice reform since October. A bi-partisan push to rewrite New Mexico’s juvenile justice laws as embodied in the Children’s Code has emerged to make sure violent teen suspects are held accountable.
DA Bregman has said that overall violent crime appears to be trending down in New Mexico. However, he has said violent juvenile crime is “out of control,” saying 25 defendants under age 18 are currently detained and facing murder charges in New Mexico. Bregman said this:
“Juveniles without consequences who later commit murder or violent crimes happens every single week in Bernalillo County. … We have to do some things so they learn when they first enter the criminal justice system that their conduct of violating certain laws and norms cannot continue without a consequence. Therefore, they learn it, because we’re not at the end of the day.”
PROPOSED CHANGES TO CHILDREN’S CODE OUTLINED
House Bill 134 is a bipartisan juvenile justice reform bill. It would expand what is legally called a “serious youthful offender” which would allow juveniles to be charged as adults for more crimes. It is also an effort to rename the Juvenile Corrections Act to the Juvenile Community Connections Act. It would set aside money for programs providing services for youth in detention or CYFD and establish a panel to determine what comes next for a juvenile sentenced to a detention facility.
In the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Rep. Nicole Chavez said the public safety package didn’t go far enough to address juvenile crime. Committee Chair, Democratic Rep. Christine Chandler said the Children’s Code bills hadn’t been vetted yet and she said this:
“I think we need the time and deliberative process to work on that bill, and I’m sorry people are disappointed that we didn’t rush it through, but rush doesn’t mean good.”
DA Bregman said that’s not good enough. He’s been working with lawmakers on juvenile justice reform since October.
“I will accept whatever the Legislature decides to do, but what I won’t accept is disinformation when it comes to well this is being rushed upon them or something like that. …This has been in front of them for months.”
DA BREGMAN’S PROPOSED CHANGES TO DELINQUENCY ACT
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman has said that from January of last year to November of this year there have been 1,448 juvenile cases. This includes 24 homicides, 386 cases involving firearms, 49 armed robberies, and 44 rapes. He said from 2022 to 2023, there’s been a 57% increase in cases that involved kids with guns. However, in the first ten months of 2024, there was a 37.5% decrease in juvenile felony gun crimes compared to the same time in 2023.
In response to the juvenile violent crime rates, Bregman’s office developed a list of 36 amendments to the Children’s Code and the Delinquency Act. These changes include expanding the types of crimes where juveniles can be charged as adults, extending the jurisdiction of juvenile services to 25 years old and expanding youth gun restrictions. Bregman is proposing a 64-page bill with proposed amendments to the children’s code to crack down on youth crime. The proposed changes are all aimed at making sure there’s proper guardrails for juvenile criminals.
The proposed changes to the Children’s Code and Delinquency Act DA Bregman has listed as the most important are:
- Expanding the definition of “Serious Youthful Offender” to include second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, criminal sexual penetration (rape), armed robbery with the use of a firearm, shooting at or from a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm or death, and shooting at dwelling or occupied building causing great bodily harm or death.
- Extending the age of possible imprisonment for “Youthful Offenders” from 21 to 25 years old. As the law is currently written, once a juvenile offender turns 21, in most cases, the criminal justice system automatically loses jurisdiction. Extending jurisdiction to age 25 would provide more time to get youthful offenders to get the treatment and supervision they need, while also monitoring the progress they are making.
- Making it a felony for unlawful possession of a firearm for people under 19 to have any guns, including rifles, and not just handguns. Right now, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 19 to be in possession of a handgun. However, it is not illegal for anyone under the age of 19 to possess an assault rifle. The law would be updating language from “handgun” to “firearm,” which will include assault rifles. Bregman is also proposing to increase the penalty for this crime from a misdemeanor to a fourth-degree felony.
- Moving a person to an adult facility once they reach the age of 18. Bregman believes that when a juvenile convicted of a violent crime turns 18, they should go to an adult facility because he does not want an 18-year-old in custody with a 13-year-old.
- Remove the use of the “Risk Assessment Tool” to determine if a child is to be detained and allow prosecutors to file charges without having to first consult the juvenile probation office. Bregman said detention risk assessments also often stand in the way of holding young people who have been arrested, adding the assessments fail to give judges enough discretion and law enforcement officers enough credit as people with firsthand knowledge of a crime. Bregman said this: “I say that if a police officer determines that that person needs to be arrested at the time, they need to be booked into the [detention center], and within 24 hours or so, a judge needs to hear and determine whether or not that person should be detained pending adjudication of the charges”.
- Unsealing juvenile records during certain court hearings proceedings. This would consist of removing the secrecy laws that seal juvenile records from public review for the most serious offenders. This would allow juvenile records to be used during any adult conditions of release or sentencing hearing without having to obtain a court order to unseal the records. Every judge has the right to know and consider if the person in front of them has a violent past when determining conditions of release or sentencing. This change would allow for additional information to be heard and considered and will ultimately promote public safety.
- Requiring judges to preside over juvenile detention hearings.
- Grant judge’s discretion on the length of probation or commitment terms based on a juvenile’s history.
Bregman said this about his proposed changes:
“This is not about a kid going into a store and shoplifting candy or even a new set of headphones. … This is about kids who are willing to steal cars, drive down the road, videotape their friend while he’s shooting off 20 rounds of bullets that are going into houses and killing 5-year-olds.”
“Currently, the only crime you can charge a juvenile as an adult is first-degree murder We want to expand that to include: second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, criminal sexual penetration — rape, armed robbery with the use of a firearm, shooting at or from a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm or death, and shooting at dwelling or occupied building causing great bodily harm or death. … there must be consequences when juveniles first enter the criminal justice system.”
“The most significant thing we can do on crime in the Legislature this year is truly amend the Children’s Code to deal with the unbelievable spike in juvenile crime that we’re seeing out there. … If they don’t pass anything when it comes to juvenile crime, it leaves a big hole in people’s guts, like what’s going on here? Because this is a big problem. … As time goes by, you start to lose the idea that you have any momentum or that it’s moving forward.”
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
The passage of the six-bill package embodied in House Bill 8 is only the first step to enactment of meaningful public safety legislation. Passage of the legislation revising the state’s criminal competency laws and passage of House Bill 134 making changes to the juvenile justice system are just as important and will result in meaningful long term results in reducing crime.
ENACT MEANIFUL JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM
Simply put, New Mexico’s children are committing more and more violent crimes where guns are involved. The state’s Children Code and our Juvenile Criminal Justice System has not been able to keep up with changing times to deal with what now can only be considered a major crisis. Part of the problem is just how complicated the children’s code really is and its application. The ultimate question that must be addressed is what is in the “best interest of the child” and keeping a family together versus punishment, incarceration and making sure justice is served and the public is protected.
It is very clear that the primary emphasis and purpose of the Children’s Code is not punishment in the form of confinement of child for crimes committed but on rehabilitation, services, counseling and social services. The primary goal of the Children’s Code and the Juvenile Justice System is to keep the family unit intact and what is in the best interest of the child. Such an approach is wise whenever you are dealing with delinquency types of cases and children of tender age. It is teenage juveniles, ages 13 to 15, that pose the biggest problem of what approach is in order.
Under the children’s code there is no mandatory sentencing and confinement when delinquency is found. When incarceration does happen it can only be up and until the child reaches 18. However, things do get very complicated when gun violence is involved and protecting the general public from gun violence and when it comes to sentencing a child as an adult when charges are brought against the child as a “youthful offender” or “serious youthful offender.”
All of the major proposals and changes to the Children’s Code as outlined and proposed by District Attorney Sam Bregman are reasonable, should be considered necessary given the violent crimes being committed by juveniles and should be adopted by the legislature. No doubt many will argue that they run afoul of the purpose and intent of the Children’s Code which is to do what is in the best interest of a child.
DA Bregman’s proposals to expand the definition of “serious youthful offender” so more types of crimes could lead to children being tried as adults is reasonable and necessary given the extent and types of violent crime that is being committed. The challenge for the legislature is to decide what types of offenses for which a juvenile can be charged as an adult. Right now, that can only happen for first-degree murder.
What should be included are all violent crimes involving a weapon and should include the crimes of aggravated assault, aggravated battery armed robbery with a firearm, and child abuse resulting in death. The legislature should also fix the law that currently allows a teenager to wield an assault rifle, though handguns are still illegal.
FINAL COMMENTARY
More than 40 bills dealing with crime and criminal penalties have been filed since the start of New Mexico’s 60-day legislative session. Many lawmakers say there’s a greater sense of urgency to address crime this year amid a spike of violent crimes involving juvenile offenders.
This year, Democrats have a commanding 43-26 majority in the House and a 26 to 16 majority in the Senate. The biggest problem every year is the amount of time wasted to get legislation through the committee process which results in major legislation failing. Republicans consistently rely on the filibuster in the last few days of the session to kill Democrat initiatives remaining to run out the clock and the Democrats have only themselves to blame given their majorities in both chambers.
If there was ever a realistic chance for the New Mexico Legislature to enact major public safety measures, 2025 is the year to do it. Lujan Grisham will have only one more Legislative session before she leaves office, but the 2026 session is a “short session” of 30 days and primarily focused on budgetary matters.