House Judiciary approves two public safety bills over the weekend
Police in Albuquerque in mid-September, 2021. (Photo by Marisa Demarco / Source NM)
On Saturday, the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee passed two public safety bills forward in advance of additional proposals in the queue for later this week.
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.
Three years ago, Senate Bill 34 similarly called for this crime to be punished as a fourth-degree felony, but it was amended down to a misdemeanor and included in the omnibus crime package signed into law.
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 HB50 would make subsequent convictions carry greater sentences for having violated any of the four statutes.
'In other words, a first time violator of the one statute would be considered a repeat offender of the larger statutory scheme if they have a prior conviction for a different Article 16D offense,' the Law Offices of the Public Defender explained in its analysis of the bill. 'This may lead to further litigation since an accused person may challenge the legality of an enhanced punishment for 'repeating' conduct they have not actually repeated.'
The committee has heard two other bills that lawmakers intend to include in the crime package. The committee is expected to vote on the package on Wednesday.
House Bill 4 would give prosecutors more options to involuntarily commit people into a locked psychiatric facility if they are found to be dangerous and unable to stand trial. House Bill 38 would ban devices that can convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones.
The committee is scheduled to hold hearings on House Bill 16, which would increase sentences for trafficking fentanyl, and House Bill 86, which would remove the statute of limitations for prosecuting a human trafficking offense.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Federal efforts to revoke buffer zone around Chaco Canyon prompts delegation letter
Peñasco Blanco at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. (Photo by Mary Cornatzer/Source NM) In a new letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, New Mexico's congressional delegation chastised federal efforts to revoke a 10-mile buffer zone for oil and gas development around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. 'Pursuing increased development on [Bureau of Land Management] lands within the ten-mile area that surrounds Chaco Canyon—so rich in cultural, spiritual, and historical significance—is misguided and risks permanent damage to one of the most sacred landscapes in North America,' the letter stated. 'Additionally, it is unacceptable to push forward without full and robust Tribal consultation.' U.S. Interior Department finalizes fossil fuel, mining ban near Chaco Canyon The area around Chaco Canyon holds paramount spiritual and cultural significance to several New Mexico Pueblos, the Hopi Indians of Arizona and the Navajo Nation. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated the archaeological sites at Chaco among one of only 24 World Heritage Sites in the U.S. The site sits atop the Mancos Shale formation in the San Juan Basin. Approximately 90% of federal lands surrounding the site are leased for oil and gas, according to the All Pueblo Governors Council. Pueblo governments and advocates fought for years for protections from further encroachment of oil and gas. In 2023, under the Biden Administration, the federal government issued Public Land Order No. 7923, banning further oil and gas development on federal lands within 10 miles of the historic site for 20 years, which was celebrated by advocates and tribal governments. In April, members of the delegation re-introduced federal legislation to make the withdrawal permanent. But a competing Republican-backed bill and the Trump Administration's efforts to unwind the order are threatening that progress, the delegation said in their letter. Bureau of Land Management officials failed to offer proper notice of virtual May 28 tribal consultation, the delegation said, adding that federal officials did not send a letter to all of the impacted tribal governments. The delegation pressed the federal government to hold in-person consultations, give a timeline for when decisions will be made and urged Burgum himself to tour in-person. A Source NM request to the Bureau of Land Management for a copy of the letter sent to tribal governments in May went unreturned Monday. Efforts to remove the buffer are unsurprising, said Julia Bernal (Sandia), the executive Director of Pueblo Action Alliance, who noted it was one of the plans outlined in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025. Bernal said her nonprofit is pushing for further safeguarding the ancestral site and reducing pollution from oil and gas, and worries that walking back Chaco protections will erode future restoration or protection efforts. 'If we're undoing or just disregarding those very important mandated tribal consultation processes, then that really just does show how unimportant it is for this administration to uphold their sovereign rights,' Bernal said. A reversal will face 'widespread public opposition and yield minimal benefits,' in oil and gas development, the delegation wrote. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Haaland: Trump cuts threaten New Mexico progress on climate
Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland poses at the Roundhouse Thursday, June 5, 2025. Haaland, who is running as a Democratic candidate for governor, told attendees at a water summit 'the future of our communities depends on us using water wisely.' (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) While New Mexico faces threats from climate change, the Trump administration poses a much greater threat to the state's water supplies, former U.S. Interior Secretary and 2025 Democratic primary gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland said Thursday. 'Right now we face a much larger challenge,' she said during her keynote speech at a Santa Fe water conference. 'The Trump administration is putting our progress at risk. Haaland listed the White House firings of federal staff; cancellations of grants to federal projects; and proposed budget reductions for water, public lands and tribal communities, as examples. 'Cuts, cuts, cuts — that's all they do,' Haaland said. 'When drought conditions strike, we need these systems to be resilient enough for us to rely on. Our future will count on us holding the line and leaders who can fight back.' Haaland, in her signature white sneakers and a cornflower blue suit, addressed the crowd of about 100 attendees seated inside a committee room at the Roundhouse for a two-day water summit hosted by the City of Santa Fe. Most of Haaland's speech focused on the need for collaboration, conservation and working closer with tribal governments on water issues, as climate change has rapidly stressed the Colorado River and Rio Grande. Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, opened her speech with memories of hauling buckets for cooking and washing at her grandmother's house in Mesita, saying the experience instilled a deep respect for water. 'We must manage the water resources with every community in mind collaboratively and above all, respect one another,' she said. But further conservation will be needed, she said, such as additional watershed restoration, infrastructure needs and better metering and sustainability processes for aquifers. 'We need to modernize and expand groundwater management, our basins are long overdrawn, and we must be dedicated to managing this,' she said. 'We must think in terms of generations and not budget years.' Haaland said Pueblo and tribal involvement needs to be a priority, saying that her experience in negotiations on the Colorado River offered creative solutions such as the Gila River Tribe's idea to float solar panels on canals to prevent water loss. 'I will say that bringing the tribes to the table was the best thing that we could have ever done, because they brought ideas. They brought generations of experience in water stewardship with them to the table,' she said. Haaland took two questions from the audience. One asked about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to refuse to hear the Apache Stronghold's case to stop a copper mine from destroying Oak Flat, a sacred site. She encouraged nonprofits to ask the tribal governments involved in the case for direction, and said it wasn't under her power during her time in the U.S. Department of the Interior. 'I wasn't able to do anything to stop that, and it's regrettable that this has happened, but more of these things are going to happen during this administration,' she said. 'I think it's on all of us to be as strong as we can and fight back where and when we can.' A second question from the audience asked about the 'elephant in the room' of how she might approach water-intensive crops as governor. She said the state needs to encourage research and development into technologies such as underground irrigation (often called deep-root irrigation). 'I feel very strongly that in order to save our agricultural tradition here in New Mexico that we really need to look at the ways that we can help move those things forward and assist farmers in implementing some of these techniques, buying equipment,' she said. In February, Haaland announced her 2026 bid for governor. If elected, she would be the first Native American person to head the state government in its 113-year history. She is facing challengers including 2nd Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman and Ken Miyagashima, the former mayor of Las Cruces, running as Democrats and Rio Rancho Mayor Greggory Hull running as a Republican. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
High court upholds House redistricting plan
The state's highest court rejected an appeal from critics that the Republican-led redistricting of the New Hampshire House of Representatives was so politically drawn that it should be deemed unconstitutional. In its unanimous 4-0 ruling the New Hampshire Supreme Court decided the maps for the 400 seats approved and signed into law in 2022 met the 'rational basis' test that courts hold for such legislative acts. A group of 10 residents had brought the appeal that alleged the approved map had failed to provide enough towns and city wards with their own representation. They had introduced a rival plan from a nonpartisan organization known as 'Map-A-Thon' that came up with a proposal that gave 15 more communities and city wards their own state rep compared to the House plan. The justices noted that any lawsuit against redistricting faces a high bar because it's the actions of a separate and independent branch of government. 'This means that we will not hold the redistricting statute to be unconstitutional unless a clear and substantial conflict exists between it and the Constitution,' justices wrote. 'It also means that when doubts exist as to the constitutionality of a statute, those doubts must be resolved in favor of its constitutionality.' Attorney General John Formella's legal team had countered that the redistricting plan (HB 50) was a 'political decision to be made by the Legislature based on policy considerations.' Redistricting has favored GOP State prosecutors maintained for the court to strike the plan down, justices would have to act as lawmakers and the court agreed with that logic. 'The plaintiffs have not persuaded us that the trade-offs the Legislature made in enacting RSA 662:5 (redistricting law) were unreasonable,' the justices wrote. 'Accordingly, we conclude that the plaintiffs have not met their burden of demonstrating that the Legislature had no rational or legitimate basis for enacting RSA 662:5.' Formella issued a statement praising the decision and thanking his legal team for its defense. 'Today's decision reaffirms the court's prior precedent recognizing the Legislature's broad discretion in the area of redistricting and recognizes that the Legislature must balance complex constitutional requirements when determining the most appropriate map,' Formella said. 'We are delighted that the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's finding that the Legislature acted within its constitutional authority …' In November, the high court upheld redistricting maps for the 24-person state Senate and the five-person Executive Council. Since all three maps were approved, Republicans have held onto the ruling majorities in the Legislature and on the council. In 2022, Democratic Party critics noted that their candidates for Executive Council got the most votes across the state, but they won only one of the five seats. That's because the redistricting made four of those council districts more Republican-leaning while the fifth became much more Democratic. The fifth Supreme Court justice, Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, is on administrative leave while she fights charges she illegally interfered in a criminal investigation into her husband, State Ports and Harbors Director Geno Marconi. klandrigan@
