logo
Lawmakers tout progress on crime at halfway mark but want to do more

Lawmakers tout progress on crime at halfway mark but want to do more

Yahoo23-02-2025

As she raced to her office on the fourth floor of the state Capitol early Thursday, Linda Trujillo barely had time to talk.
Trujillo, a Santa Fe Democrat, granted a reporter an interview, but it was in motion and over in 40 seconds.
"They're going fast and furious," she said when asked about the first 30 days of the 60-day session.
Trujillo's assessment sums up the first half of this year's session, which officially reached its midway point Thursday.
Even longtime lawmakers say the session is unlike any other New Mexico has experienced, at least in recent memory.
"Every session is different, but it feels like this year we're doing two 30-day sessions back-to-back," Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said Friday.
"Our decision to prioritize the behavioral health [bills] and a crime package in the first 30 days has had everybody just all hands on deck to get that across the line," he said.
Amid a self-imposed deadline to get the two packages to the governor by the session's midway point, lawmakers on Friday debated — and passed — bills to crack down on crime and improve the state's behavioral health system.
"I feel like we have met our targets," Wirth said ahead of Friday's Senate floor session. "It'll be a big accomplishment."
House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, agreed, saying the Legislature has made "tremendous progress" in the first half of the session.
"We promised the people after the special session [in July] that we would deliver on competency and public safety and behavioral health in the first 30 days, and we are about to fulfill that promise," he said Friday evening. "The behavioral health bills are well underway. The governor will be able to sign them. Promises made, promises kept."
Crime, behavioral health bills headed to governor
A special session called by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last summer ended after lawmakers adjourned in five hours without giving any of her proposals a hearing, saying they weren't ready for consideration. While the governor harshly criticized lawmakers, Wirth said they were able to work on proposals to reform the state's criminal competency laws and building a behavioral health framework in the interim.
"By prioritizing those issues, I'm very encouraged that we're going to deliver a good product to the citizens of our state," he said.
This legislative session brought a new strategy, said House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena.
"The Legislature front-loaded a lot of bills, which hasn't been done in the past … so we're navigating that, and I think we're navigating it pretty well," Armstrong said in an interview.
This year, lawmakers came to the Roundhouse ready with a trio of behavioral health proposals and a raft of bills that would eventually become House Bill 8, a public safety package dealing with criminal competency reforms, drunken driving, fentanyl trafficking and more.
Legislative leadership promised to expedite the behavioral health and public safety packages, with the goal of having them ready for the governor's signature at the midway point. On Saturday, the House approved some minor Senate amendments to House Bill 8, sending it to the governor, and two of the three behavioral health bills have passed both chambers.
GOP wants more on crime
Many of those proposals secured bipartisan support, with each of the three bills in this year's behavioral health package — Senate Bills 1, 2 and 3 — sponsored by a combination of Democratic and Republican leaders.
But the public safety package will be a sticking point for Republicans, with even some who voted for it arguing it doesn't go far enough to curb crime in the state. Armstrong noted Republicans offered changes to the proposed public safety package on the House floor but they weren't incorporated into the bill.
"I saw a quote today that said, you know, the crime package that passed [the House] is an appetizer," Armstrong said. "Well, we want the full meal deal. New Mexico wants the full meal deal."
Martínez said lawmakers will continue to make public safety a priority over the next 30 days and that it has been a priority of both chambers over the last several years, though Republicans may disagree with his assessment.
"This package of bills that are about to go up to the governor are the result of months of hard work," he said. "It is not the end-all, be-all. Just like the last four sessions, they have not been the end-all, be-all. And I suspect that there's a lot more work that will be happening over the next 30 days and also over the next few legislative sessions. This is similar to our work around early childhood. It's similar to our work around infrastructure. It's work in progress."
Changes to New Mexico's juvenile delinquency statutes are of particular concern to House Republicans in the coming days, with two House Republican-backed delinquency bills currently awaiting committee hearings.
"We would really like to see that get across the finish line. ... It's about getting these kids help and sending them in the right direction," Armstrong said.
Another thing that hasn't yet made much headway this session: an overhaul of New Mexico's medical malpractice system, which GOP leaders identified as a priority this legislative session.
In addition to sponsoring other pieces of legislation pertaining to medical malpractice, Armstrong signed on to co-sponsor Senate Bill 176, a proposal backed by the think tank Think New Mexico to make significant changes to the medical malpractice process. Though the bill now has 10 Democratic and 10 Republican sponsors, many of them arguing the proposal would make it easier for doctors to practice in New Mexico, it had yet to get a hearing as of Saturday.
"I'm not saying that everyone's perfect, and I'm not saying that they're not making mistakes out there — but we are losing our doctors," Armstrong said.
'We've been working'
As she reflected on the first 30 days of the session, Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, said she, like many of her colleagues, is already feeling "quite exhausted."
And that's a good thing, she said; it's a sign of productivity.
"We really have been in the deliberative process of seeing what's best for our state moving forward," Romero said.
"When you see the bags under our eyes, that means we've been working," she added.
Wirth said "there's no question" lawmakers have had "the pedal to the metal" in the first half of the session, noting it was the last 60-day session for Lujan Grisham, who is more than halfway through her second term.
"I want to make sure we make the most of this and really deliver for New Mexicans, so yeah, I'm going to push," he said, adding the Legislature will need to take a little break after this weekend.
"We will need to back off a little bit here so folks get some sleep because I think the second 30 days is going to be another real push to the end," he said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

House GOP finalizes tweaks to keep megabill on track in Senate
House GOP finalizes tweaks to keep megabill on track in Senate

Politico

time43 minutes ago

  • Politico

House GOP finalizes tweaks to keep megabill on track in Senate

House Republicans have finalized changes to the party-line tax and spending package the House passed last month, to keep the bill in compliance with Senate rules. An early copy of the amendment House Republicans plan to adopt this week, first obtained by POLITICO, would make changes to biofuel policy and other provisions. By nixing items the Senate parliamentarian has flagged, the bill will retain its 'privilege' and can pass the Senate without having to overcome the filibuster. House GOP leaders plan to approve the tweaks in the Rules Committee later Tuesday and adopt them on the floor on Wednesday, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Brevard County election 2025 results for Florida Senate District 19, House District 32
Brevard County election 2025 results for Florida Senate District 19, House District 32

Yahoo

time43 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Brevard County election 2025 results for Florida Senate District 19, House District 32

Who are the winners and losers in the June 10, 2025, Brevard County special election? Voters in Brevard County cast ballots with their picks in the Florida Senate District 19 and Florida House District 32 races. The winners of the April 1 Republican primary election faced Democratic candidates in Tuesday's special general election. The Florida Senate District 19 election will fill the seat left vacant by Randy Fine, who resigned to run for Congress representing the Daytona Beach area. Primary winner Republican Debbie Mayfield faced Democrat Vance Ahrens. Florida's House District 32 seat was vacated by Debbie Mayfield, who is seeking to return to the Florida Senate after being term-limited out and winning this seat in November. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that she was eligible to once again seek her former Senate seat in the special election. Republican Brian Hodgers won the primary and faced Democrat Juan Hinojosa in the special general election. ➤ Dig Deeper: Ultimate voter guide to Brevard County June 10, 2025, special general elections Follow along below for the latest election results, continually updated until all ballots are counted. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time. Any voters waiting in line at 7 p.m. will have the opportunity to cast a ballot. Use the Brevard County voter information look-up to check your voter registration and party status. To find your Brevard County polling place, check the voter precinct look-up or your voter information card. To see a sample ballot for your Brevard County precinct, check the county elections office website. Support local journalism by subscribing to Florida Today. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard County election results: Florida D19, House D32

House panel demands records of over 200 NGOs that nabbed billions of taxpayer dollars to ‘fuel' border crisis
House panel demands records of over 200 NGOs that nabbed billions of taxpayer dollars to ‘fuel' border crisis

New York Post

timean hour ago

  • New York Post

House panel demands records of over 200 NGOs that nabbed billions of taxpayer dollars to ‘fuel' border crisis

WASHINGTON — A House Republican panel is demanding records from more than 200 non-governmental organizations that nabbed billions of dollars in taxpayers' money to settle migrants in the US under ex-President Joe Biden. One of the targeted groups is among those embroiled in the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and Subcommittee Chairman Josh Breechen (R-Okla.) fired off letters to the 215 organizations Tuesday, accusing each of having 'helped fuel the worst border crisis in our nation's history.' 5 House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) fired off letters to 215 non-governmental organizations Tuesday accusing them of having 'helped fuel the worst border crisis in our nation's history.' Bloomberg via Getty Images The powerful Republican chairman and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee leader said the groups created a 'pull factor' in providing taxpayer-funded transportation, translation, housing and other services to migrants, most of whom were released into the country after crossing the border illegally. 'The Committee remains deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration, and stand ready to do so under future Democrat administrations,' Green and Breechen wrote, citing a 'near-total lack of accountability' for how the money was spent. They also noted that they are investigating how much the funding incentivized 'human trafficking and smuggling' operations as well as whether the 'NGOs are now actively advising illegal aliens on how to avoid and impede law enforcement officials.' 5 The ICE crackdown in Los Angeles rounded up convicted sexual abusers, drug dealers and gang members to put into removal proceedings, federal officials said. REUTERS One of the groups, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), took nearly $1 million in DHS grants to 'offer both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to lawful permanent residents' starting in 2021. Its last tranche of funding was yanked by the Trump administration in March. CHIRLA organized a rally Thursday to denounce the ICE arrests of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles before protests devolved into full-blown riots that destroyed property and led to the assaults of federal law enforcement. 'We have not participated, coordinated, or been part of the protests being registered in Los Angeles other than the press conference and rally,' a CHIRLA rep previously told The Post in a statement. The group did not respond to a Post request for comment Tuesday. The ICE crackdown in the city rounded up convicted sexual abusers, drug dealers and gang members to put into removal proceedings, DHS officials said. 5 'The committee remains deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration,' Green wrote. REUTERS Southwest Key Programs, another group being probed by Green's panel, was the largest housing nonprofit for unaccompanied migrant kids who entered the US and took around $3 billion in taxpayer funding from Biden's Health and Human Services — before Trump officials pulled the plug in March. Between 2021 and 2023, Southwest Key's top five executives saw their salaries inflated on average from $420,000 to $720,000 — even as the organization outspent its revenue by millions of dollars. The Justice Department sued Southwest Key Programs in July 2024, alleging that some supervisors and employees had committed 'severe' and 'pervasive' rape and sex abuse against kids between 2015 and 2023. The civil suit was dropped by the DOJ in March 2025, the same month that Trump's HHS cut off federal funding for the organization. 5 Green led the GOP charge in the House to impeach former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. AP Southwest Key 'strongly denied the claims relating to child sexual abuse in our shelters,' a rep previously said. The group did not respond to a Post request for comment Tuesday. Of the more than 550,000 migrant kids who entered the country between February 2021 and January 2025, at least 291,000 were released from federal custody to domestic sponsors — thousands of whom have since been flagged as sex abusers or gang members — and 32,000 went missing entirely, according to an August 2024 report from DHS's inspector general. On average, 2.4 million immigrants entered the US every year between 2021 and 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Roughly 60% crossed the border illegally, a Goldman Sachs analysis found. DHS subagencies such as ICE and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were tapped to 'coordinate with nonprofit organizations that provide services such as food, shelter, and transportation' for those non-citizens who were released, according to a Government Accountability Office report in April 2023. 5 President Trump pulled taxpayer funding for many immigration NGOs after returning to the White House. AP A March 2023 DHS Office of Inspector General audit revealed that 'more than half' of FEMA funding that went to NGOs couldn't be accounted for, Green notes in his letter. The GOP leader has previously called out $81 million in possibly 'illegal' funds that helped cover migrant stays in luxury New York City hotels. Conservative immigration groups have previously estimated that the influx of migrants cost New York City residents as much as $10 billion and bilked US taxpayers up to $150 billion in 2023, the year when illegal border crossings reached their highest level in recorded history. Green led the GOP charge in the House to impeach former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for allegedly failing to comply with federal immigration law and lying to Congress that the border was 'secure.' The Republican missive requests the total dollar amount of federal grants, contracts or payments received by the NGOs between Jan. 19, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025. It also demands to know whether any organization sued the feds and what services it provided to migrants. Influential left-leaning groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Southern Poverty Law Center have all been asked to respond to the queries.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store