State Senate Shoots Down Bill Codifying Emissions Goals In New Mexico
Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, sponsor of the Clear Horizons Act, which would codify emission reduction targets, defends the bill during a debate on the state Senate floor Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. Nathan Burton/The New MexicanBy DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A contentious proposal to put New Mexico’s pollution reduction goals into state statute went up in smoke Wednesday.
The New Mexico Senate on Wednesday rejected Senate Bill 18, known as the Clear Horizons Act, on a 19-23 vote. Seven Democrats joined all their Republican colleagues in voting against Read More
Luján, Scott Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Develop, Demonstrate, And Deploy Technologies To Accelerate Nuclear Waste Cleanup
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) introduced the Combining Laboratory Expertise to Accelerate Novel Solutions for Minimizing Accumulated Radioactive Toxins (CLEAN SMART) Act.
This legislation would build on the success of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship (NNLEMS) to accelerate nuclear waste cleanup.
The CLEAN SMART Act would codify and properly fund NNLEMS to leverage the best available science and technology of the nation’s national Read More
Think New Mexico: New Scandal From The Dark Money Group Opposing Medical Malpractice Reform
From Think New Mexico:
Since the session began, New Mexicans like you have sent 10,879 emails to your legislators and the governor through Think New Mexico’s Action Center, with more than half of those urging lawmakers to reform the state’s malpractice laws.
Last night, New Mexico InDepth reported that the dark money group fighting malpractice reforms has been delivering emails to legislators that appear to be from their constituents expressing opposition to House Bill 99 – but when legislators reached out to respond, their constituents said they had never sent those Read More
New Mexico Republicans Push For Ban On Using SNAP For Soda, Candy
By Margaret O’Hara
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Republican state senators have introduced legislation that would restrict shoppers from spending federal food aid on sodas and candy.
Senate Bill 186 takes a page out of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again playbook, with both U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. encouraging states to remove sugary foods from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility.
Some of New Mexico’s neighboring states — including states with Read More
House Passes Bill To Crack Down On Violent Armed Felons
STATE News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to strengthen penalties for convicted violent felons who possess firearms illegally, sending House Bill 49 to the Senate in a bipartisan show of support for public safety.
The legislation, approved on a 54-9 vote, increases the penalty for firearm possession by a serious violent felon from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, punishable by up to nine years in prison — three years more than current law allows.
“Raising the penalty for serious violent felons who flout the law by possessing Read More
Legislative Roundup: 10 Days Left In Session
Marilyn Converse, a volunteer with the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, and Perla hang out in the grass on the east side of the Roundhouse Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, Animal Protection Lobby Day at the Legislature. Photo by Matt Dahlseid/The New Mexican
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nuclear bill bombs: A bipartisan proposal to add nuclear power facilities to the state’s definition of renewable energy resources was shot down Tuesday in the Senate Conservation Committee.
Democratic senators’ concerns expressed during the hearing on Senate Bill 78 centered largely on nuclear waste and where it Read More
Measure To Fully Fund Free Childcare In New Mexico Gains Momentum, Guardrails
By Daniel J. Chacón
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s much-hyped initiative to offer taxpayer-funded childcare to every family in New Mexico, regardless of income, is closer to becoming reality.
The chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, is championing a bill that would allow the Legislature to spend an additional $1 billion from the Early Childhood Education and Care Fund over the next five fiscal years to shore up the initiative — without requiring any copays.
“We’re investing in people in New Mexico, and we’re Read More
Robinson: It’s Been A Long Road To Involuntary Mental Health Treatment
By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
©2025 New Mexico News Services
He was sprawled across the exit lane of a busy shopping center as I was trying to leave. I stopped my car and ran over to do something, but what? Two other good Samaritans joined me.
We dragged him out of traffic and called 911. He told me he was having a seizure, but it seemed more likely that he was wasting away from years of substance abuse. The fire department arrived in minutes, and the senior officer greeted the man by name.
“We see this guy ALL the time,” the firefighter said.
I knew the police have to contend repeatedly with the same folks Read More
New Mexico Public Safety Workers Call On Senate To Go With Governor’s Higher Pay Plan
Bryanna Vargas, sergeant at the Springer Correctional Center, speaks in support of 6% raises for state public safety employees to be included in the state budget during a news conference in the rotunda of the state Capitol Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. Photo by Matt Dahlseid/The New Mexican
By NATHAN BROWN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Public safety workers are urging lawmakers to take up Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s proposal for bigger raises for corrections workers, police and firefighters, arguing the current pay rates put safety at risk by contributing to high vacancies.
“We show up every single Read More
Lawmaker: NM In Talks With Some Dozen Data Centers
Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces
By LILY ALEXANDER
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A New Mexico lawmaker pitching a bill to regulate microgrids like one planned in Southern New Mexico to power a massive AI data center said he has learned the state is in talks with up to a dozen other data centers.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces, the co-sponsor of Senate Bill 235, which is largely a response to Project Jupiter in Doña Ana County, said he learned of the scope of New Mexico’s data center recruitment plans during a recent conversation with the state’s economic development secretary. Read More
County Secures Lease For Piñon Pool
COUNTY News:
Considering the impact on the swimming community during the Olympic Pool Re-plastering Project, Los Alamos County staff have been communicating with the local and regional pools to secure an alternative space during the closure of Olympic and Therapy Pools, Feb. 22, 2026, through October 2026.
The Los Alamos County Community Services Department is happy to announce that it has secured a lease for the Piñon Pool, located in White Rock.
The Piñon Pool Association previously ran Piñon Pool; however, they closed the facility in 2025 due to a lack of memberships. Los Alamos County Read More
Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard Calls On Law Enforcement To Investigate Allegation Involving Burials On Land Surrounding Epstein’s Zorro Ranch
Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard
LAND OFFICE News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard sent a letter Tuesday calling on the U.S. Department of Justice and the New Mexico Department of Justice to ensure a thorough criminal investigation into allegations that two girls were buried in the hills surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County.
Epstein’s company, Cypress Inc., held two leases for state land in the vicinity of the ranch that were issued in 1993, but Commissioner Garcia Richard terminated them in Read More
Op-Ed: Protecting Northern New Mexico’s Land, Water, And Communities From Wildfire
By Sen. Bobby Gonzales, D-Los Alamos
New Mexico District 6
In northern New Mexico, wildfire is not an abstract threat—it is something we have lived through, endured, and are still recovering from.
Communities across Taos, Mora, San Miguel, and Colfax counties know this all too well. The Hermits Peak–Calf Canyon Fire burned hundreds of thousands of acres, displaced families, damaged acequias, destroyed grazing lands, and forever altered watersheds that our villages and pueblos rely on. The scars remain visible today—not just on the land, but in the lives of the people who depend on it.
Our Read More
House Of Representatives Passes Public Safety Bills With Strong Bipartisan Support
NMDP News:
SANTA FE — The House of Representatives passed two important public safety bills with strong bipartisan support.
Senate Bill 3 makes it easier to proactively intervene and direct someone into treatment if they are suffering from severe mental illness and pose a high risk of harming themselves or others. The bill passed by a vote of 58-10.
Under current statute, it can be difficult to direct individuals who may be a danger to themselves or others into treatment, unless they have already caused serious bodily injury to themselves or others, or have experienced repeated hospitalizations Read More
Legislative Roundup: 11 Days Left In Session
Father Lucas Grubbs, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Churches, center, speaks during a news conference where faith leaders pushed for passage of Senate Bill 17. The bill would ban certain dangerous weapons and put a variety of new regulations on gun sellers, including a minimum age and background checks for workers. Photo by Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
Santa Fe New Mexican Staff Report
Senate shenanigans: As the clock winds down at the state Capitol, expect Republicans to try to drag things out to prevent pieces of legislation they oppose from passing.
Case in point: Read More
GOP Senator: Feds Could Sue To Block New Mexico’s ICE Contract Ban
By Daniel J. Chacón
The Santa Fe New Mexican
As New Mexico lawmakers work on a plan to bail out three counties bracing for financial hardship under a new law that will force them to end their immigration detention contracts, the Trump administration could be considering litigation.
“They are evaluating their options,” state Sen. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia, said Monday in response to a request for an update on a letter he had sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi last month requesting her agency’s “attention and intervention” on House Bill 9.
“They believe Read More
House Education Committee Advances Pared-Down Virtual Education Bill
By Lily Alexander
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The House Education Committee has approved a slimmed-down version of a measure that would overhaul distance-learning regulations in New Mexico, removing provisions many in the virtual school community argued would eliminate such options in small districts.
An earlier version of House Bill 253 would have restricted the number of a district’s students who could enroll in virtual programs and would have prohibited districts from enrolling distance-learning students from outside their boundaries.
The committee voted 8-4 along party lines Read More
Senators Luján, Booker, Colleagues Introduce Legislation To Prevent Politicization Of Public Safety Grants
SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced the Federal Grant Neutrality Act, legislation designed to stop the politicization of Department of Justice (DOJ) federal grants and prevent the DOJ from imposing unfair conditions on jurisdictions represented by Democrats.
The bill ensures that grants cannot be withheld to punish jurisdictions for refusing to enforce partisan federal immigration policies.
For years, DOJ grants have been essential for state, local, Read More
NMDOT Cabinet Secretary Ricky Serna To Resign
Secretary Ricky Serna
From the Office of the Governor:
SANTA FE – New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) Secretary Ricky Serna will resign his position effective Feb. 20 after three-and-a-half years in the role.
Before leading NMDOT, Serna served as acting secretary of the Department of Workforce Solutions and the acting director of the State Personnel Office.
“I thank the Governor for the confidence she put in me to serve my fellow New Mexicans,” Cabinet Secretary Serna said. “You have my commitment to a strong transition and my assurance that a capable and engaged team Read More
House Unanimously Passes Behavioral Health Compacts To Expand Access To Care
STATE News:
SANTA FE — Feb. 6, the House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 32: the Counseling Licensure Compact and House Bill 33: the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact to expand access to behavioral and mental healthcare in New Mexico.
HB 32 and HB 33 round out the list of 10 compact bills introduced this session, all of which have unanimously passed the House, with two signed into law by the Governor this morning (SB 1, HB 50). These important pieces of legislation enter New Mexico into interstate compacts, which allow licensed, qualified healthcare providers in other Read More