Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed HB9 into law Thursday, creating a legal firewall between New Mexico local governments and federal immigration agents. While the move marks a major statewide shift, Bernalillo County officials say their facilities are already ahead of the curve. Known as the Immigrant Safety Act, HB 9 bars state and local agencies […]
Category: New Mexico Legislature #nmleg
Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg
Governor Lujan Grisham signs Medical Licensure Compact for docs into law
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill today that enables doctors from other states to obtain New Mexico licenses more quickly. The bill, Senate Bill 1, enters New Mexico into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. In this compact, a physician licensed in a state like Texas or Colorado can fast-track their relocation to practice in […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Legislature #nmleg, NM Political Report
Bill to close ICE facilities in New Mexico signed into law by Gov
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill today designed to end New Mexico’s involvement in federal civil immigration detention. House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, prohibits public bodies from entering into, renewing or extending agreements to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations. The bill also bars public bodies from selling or leasing public […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Legislature #nmleg, NM Political Report
Gov set to sign bill closing ICE facilities in New Mexico
New Mexico is set to end its involvement in federal civil immigration detention following final Senate passage of the Immigrant Safety Act on Feb. 2. The legislation, House Bill 9, creates a “bright line” between state and local resources and federal immigration enforcement, potentially forcing the closure of three detention facilities that collectively hold more […]
Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg
Governor expected to sign bill that would ‘cut red tape’ and address New Mexico physician shortage
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is set to sign legislation that would allow out-of-state doctors to help fill New Mexico’s physician shortage by joining an Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Following a unanimous House vote Tuesday approving the Senate bill, the governor’s office says Lujan Grisham intends to sign the bill into law Thursday morning. The compact […]
Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg
Democrats surprise with amendment to exempt doctors, but not hospitals, from punitive lawsuit damages
Addressing concerns that New Mexico’s unlimited cap on punitive damages deters doctors from practicing in the state, Democrats in a key House committee pushed through a surprise compromise, of sorts, on Friday morning. House Bill 99 emerged from the House Health and Human Services Committee with a cap on punitive damages for malpractice claims against […]
Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg, NM Political Report
Democrats advance assault weapons ban through State Senate
Democrats advanced an assault weapons ban through its first legislative committee last night over the objections of Republicans, gun dealers and 2nd Amendment advocates concerned it would ban some of the most popular firearms sold and transferred in New Mexico today. “This bill represents perhaps the worst mockery of the Second Amendment in state history,” […]
Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg, NM Political Report
Momentum builds in New Mexico legislature to ban ICE facilities statewide
New Mexico legislators began hearings today on legislation to prohibit local governments from contracting with prison companies and the federal government to create immigration detention facilities. Members of the House Judiciary Committee kicked off a hearing on the bill Wed. afternoon as local elected officials from Cibola and Torrance County, where two of the state’s […]
Posted inOpinion & Analysis
Opinion: Clear Horizons Act needed to address climate-heating pollution
Analysis & Commentary in NM Political ReportCommentary submitted by Stefi Weisburd, Tijeras, NM The forest outside my East Mountain home once filled me with joy. Now it fills me with dread. Rising temperatures, declining snow and rain, and diseases have wiped out trees with brutal speed. Wildfire is a constant threat. I’m getting too old […]
Posted inOpinion & Analysis
Opinion: Punitive damages aren’t a windfall—they’re a safeguard for New Mexico consumers
Nicholas H. Mattison is a partner with Feferman, Warren & Mattison, in Albuquerque. During this year’s legislative session, there has been discussion about whether “punitive damages” should be limited in court cases. From my perspective as a consumer protection lawyer who helps people defrauded by big corporations, I know that the proposed changes would be […]