On February 27 in the Santa Fe capital cabinet conference room Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law the Behavioral Health Reform Package and the Omnibus Crime Package. During the bill signing, the Governor was joined by Lt. Governor Howie Morales, Speaker of the House Javier Martinez, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, Democrat Senators Mimi Stewart, Joseph Cervantes, Michael Padilla, Democrat Representatives Cynthia Borrego and Christine Chandler, other top Democrat leadership, NM Supreme Court Chief Justice David K. Thomson, District Attorney Sam Bregman, law enforcement officials, and the news media. No Republican Leadership attended.
OMNIBUS CRIME PACKAGE
The crime package passed by lawmakers is House Bill 8. It includes provisions dealing with fentanyl trafficking, auto theft and drugged driving (DWI). It also includes outlawing the devices used to convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons. It makes changes to how New Mexico handles criminal defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial and adding a dangerousness evaluation in such cases and giving judges more options for treatment programs. During the bill signing press conference, Governor Lujan Grisham went to great lengths to cite court data showing more than 16,000 charges were dismissed statewide from 2017 through last summer due to competency findings, with about 3,200 people responsible for those cases.
The Omnibus Crime Package, House Bill 8, is a compilation of six different bills that were consolidated into a single bill. The six house bills embodied in House Bill 8 are:
House Bill 4 is the criminal competency legislation. It gives 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. The courts will now have more options when dealing with suspects who are deemed incompetent to stand trial instead of simply releasing them back on the streets. Under House Bill 4, when a court determines that a defendant is not competent to proceed in a criminal case the court shall determine if the defendant is dangerous. State Representative Christine Chandler, sponsor of House Bill 4, said this: “What we created was a pathway, two pathways. One for those who are seriously ill and potentially dangerous, and the other pathways for individuals who may get treatment and have their issues addressed in a more appropriate way than it has been over the many years.” The link to review House Bill 4 is here: https://legiscan.com/NM/text/HB4/2025
House Bill 16 would increase sentences for trafficking fentanyl, depending on how many pills the defendant is convicted of possessing. Under Hose Bill 16, where a person is found guilty in possession of fentanyl in relation to a crime of trafficking a controlled substance, the basic sentence of imprisonment shall be enhanced by 3 to 5 years. The link to review House Bill 16 is here: Click to access HB0016.pdf
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. The bill increases the punishments for shooting threats to the same level as a bomb threat. The link to review House Bill 31 is here: Click to access HB0031.pdf
House Bill 38 would ban devices that can convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones. Any device converting semi-automatic weapons, like a handgun, into a fully automatic weapon is now banned. They’re already banned on the federal level, but now state prosecutors can take on those cases. The link to review House Bill 38 is here: Click to access HB0038.pdf
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. It is essentially a stacking of sentences provision. The link to review House Bill 50 is here: Click to access HB0050.pdf
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.
The link to review House Bill 106 is here: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/25%20Regular/bills/house/HB0106.pdf
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH REFORM PACKAGE
The Behavioral Health Reform Package consisting of 3 Senate Bills that make sweeping changes to how New Mexico’s mental health and drug abuse treatment programs are run statewide. The following is a description of each of the enacted Senate Bills:
Senate Bill 1: This bill creates the Behavioral Health Trust Fund for the state of New Mexico to support mental health and substance abuse treatment, prevention, and intervention programs throughout the state. The behavioral health trust fund will be invested by the State Investment Council. The trust fund will distribute 5% of its annual value to fund the programs and support investments in necessary infrastructure, technology, and workforce development to facilitate the expansion of services. The fund could also help New Mexico unlock matching funds from federal, local, and private sources. One major change made to Senate Bill 1 was removing a $1 billion appropriation for the new proposed trust fund. Money for the new fund will be provided in a separate budget bill during this year’s 60-day session.
Senate Bill 2: This bill allocates $200 million to expand regional behavioral health services such as crisis response and outpatient care. The bill appropriates the funding to the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts and various state agencies to set up a new framework for behavioral health programs statewide. Senate Bill 2 was not part of the signing ceremony but never the less is part of the behavioral health reform package and is part of general fund appropriations. It is assured passage in short order by the legislative leadership.
Senate Bill 3: This bill requires regional plans be crafted for providing mental health and substance abuse treatment. The plans would be overseen by the state judicial branch and would include time lines and regional funding priorities.
The legislation signed by the governor will take effect June 20, the date specified by state law for legislation approved during this year’s session that does not carry a different effective date.
GOVERNOR HEAPS PRAISE ON LEGISLATURE AND THEN LIKE OLIVER TWIST ASKS “PLEASE, CAN I HAVE SOME MORE”
Before the bill signing, Governor Lujan Grisham heaped praises on the legislature and the bipartisanship . After the bill signing she went out of her way and called upon lawmakers to pass more public safety legislation essentially saying like Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist “PLEASE, CAN I HAVE SOME MORE”. Lujan Grisham said this:
“This was a thoughtful, smart and dedicated effort to address the most pressing issue, I believe, that we are facing. … We have 30 days [left in the session], plenty of time. I’ve seen these bodies in an hour figure out very complicated issues. There’s a lot more to be done.”
Lujan Grisham went out of her way to cite several other bills she would like to see lawmakers pass. Those include measures dealing with convicted felons in possession of firearms. In the past, law makers have been reluctant to increase penalties pointing out New Mexico has already increased penalties for such offenses as recently in 2020.
The Governor also mentioned changes to the Children’s Code and changes to the Juvenile Justice System. In response to media questions, she said she expects to see legislation dealing with the Children, Youth and Family Department requiring more oversight of the department plagued with controversy.
Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/new-mexico-governor-to-sign-public-safety-bills/
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/new-mexico-governor-signs-crime-and-behavioral-health-package/
OTHER CRIME FOCUSED LEGISLATION
With the New Mexico legislature reaching the half way point, its almost assured that there will be more debate ahead on crime-focused legislation. More than 1,200 bills have been filed during this year’s 60-day session or roughly 100 bills more than two years ago. 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 crime 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 12 consists of amendments to the state’s five year old Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act also know as the “Red Flag Law” which allows firearms to be temporarily seized from individuals deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others with a court order. House Bill 12clarifies that law enforcement officers can directly initiate a court petition to get a court order to seize guns from those who pose a serious risk to themselves or others instead of having to wait for someone else to contact them. On February 25, the New Mexico House of Representative voted 41-27 to approve House Bill 12 and it now goes to the Senate for further committee hearing and a final vote.
- House Bill 86, which would remove the statute of limitations for prosecuting a human trafficking offense.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Entering the 2025 Legislative Session, and after the failed special session last summer, top-ranking Democrat legislators took months and great pains to craft a package of public safety proposals aimed at balancing stiffer criminal penalties with structural changes to New Mexico’s system for mental health and substance abuse treatment. Those bills moved with bipartisan support, especially in the Senate, to Governor Lujan Grisham for signature in the session’s first 32 days. The urgency and the rapid manner that the legislation move was highly unusual and a remarkable exhibition of bi-partisanship in the Legislature during the 60-day session.
JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM
The biggest criticism of Omnibus Crime Package, House Bill 8 is that it does not go far enough especially because it doesn’t address juvenile crime. Law enforcement leaders and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are demanding serious changes to the Children’s Code to get a handle on violent juvenile crime.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman has been lobbying lawmakers to pass sweeping juvenile justice reform since October. 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… As far as violent crime in Albuquerque, the thing that we could do most to move the needle is reform, is juvenile code fixing.”
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.
House Bill 134 is a bipartisan juvenile justice reform bill to rewrite New Mexico’s juvenile justice laws as embodied in the Children’s Code. It would expand what is legally called a “serious youthful offender” which would allow juveniles to be charged as adults for more crimes to make sure violent teen suspects are held accountable. 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.
Despite repeated pleas by prosecutors and legislators, House Bill 134 expanding the list of violent crimes where juveniles can be charged as adults, and lowering the age of serious youthful offenders to 14, is still stuck in committee. Republican State Representative Andrea Reeb said this:
“We need to get in committee and get this ball rolling. And again, I’m hoping the Democrats now are going to be like, ‘OK, what else can we do to really address crime?’ Let’s answer to what New Mexicans really want, what the DAs want.”
Democratic leaders say they are willing to discuss juvenile justice reform but suggested there is a big debate on the table. Speaker of the House Javier Martinez said this: .
“We’ve got to think about why 14-year-olds are committing these crimes. Are they inherently born bad people? Are they inherently born criminals, or are they a product of their upbringing? What’s going on at home? Where are the parents. … We’re also very cognizant of making sure that we don’t discard these kids and throw them away. They deserve better.”
House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said during a February 22 news conference after passage of the crime package there would be a “fair hearing” on a bill expanding the state’s serious youthful offender law amid a recent spate of violent crimes involving minors. But he also said lawmakers would look at ways to rehabilitate juveniles convicted of committing violent crimes.
FINAL COMMENTARY
Democrats have a commanding 43-26 majority in the House and a 26-16 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.
The fact that both bills passed with very large bi partisan votes is a testament to the leadership of both parties, but much more can and must be done to address crime. The 2025 New Mexico Legislature needs to enact House Bill 134 that rewrites New Mexico’s juvenile justice laws as embodied in the Children’s Code.
The links to related Dinelli articles are here: