Senate loads medical malpractice bill with amendments - Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal
A bill intended to limit punitive damages in medical malpractice cases ran into serious problems Monday when senators introduced 11 amendments with more expected on Tuesday.
Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, the sponsor of House Bill 99 said the raft of amendments added in the Senate Judiciary Committee threatens to sink the bill approved Saturday by the House by a vote of 66-3.
"If they are adopted, they will largely undercut the intent of the bill," Chandler said of the amendments at the close of the three-hour committee meeting. "We'll be back at square one with excessive liability verdicts."
Lawmakers have only three days to wrap up the measure before the session concludes at noon on Thursday.
The amendments, introduced in the final 40 minutes of the meeting, took aim at several key elements of the bill, including a provision that caps punitive damages at a lower rate for locally owned hospitals than for larger corporate hospitals.
Senators took no action on the bill Monday. Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, who introduced five amendments, called for the meeting to resume Tuesday morning.
Cervantes also said that the Senate received House Bill 99 over the weekend and has had little time to consider the measure. He said a special session could be a better way to consider changes to the state Medical Malpractice Act.
"I wish we weren't rushed," Cervantes said. "This is no way to legislate."
Supporters argue that HB 99 as approved by the House strikes a balance between patient protections and making New Mexico more attractive to physicians by placing limits on punitive damages.
Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, a trial attorney who specializes in medical malpractice lawsuits, introduced five amendments Monday and said she had several more planned.
Chandler's bill as approved by the House calls for a tiered scheme that varies by the size and type of medical practice. Chandler estimates that punitive damages would be capped at $1 million for independent physicians and clinics, $6 million for locally owned hospitals and $15 million for larger corporate-owned hospitals.
Cervantes argued Monday that the tiered nature of the caps on punitive damages violates the New Mexico Constitution. One of his amendments "recognizes the constitutional infirmities of that approach," he said.
Senators offered little explanation for most of the amendments and only three were listed on the Legislature's website late Monday.
New Mexico currently has no limit on punitive damages, which has resulted in sizable jury awards in recent years. A chorus of physician and hospital groups say unlimited punitive damages have attracted out-of-state malpractice attorneys to New Mexico and discourage physicians from practicing here.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has expressed strong support for the bill and has suggested she will call a special session if lawmakers fail to reform the state Medical Malpractice Act by the end of the regular session.
Sen. James Townsend, R-Artesia, urged committee members to resolve the issue before the 30-day session ends on Thursday.
"We cannot go another year," Townsend said. "In the business world we have to be competitive. If employees can't get medical care, they are not coming. This is a New Mexico issue of growth."
Chandler spoke in favor of her bill by saying that New Mexico's litigation environment is a key factor that discourages doctors from practicing here.
"Issues associated with the Medical Malpractice Act and how it spurs litigation, encourages large judgments and large settlements ... discourages doctors from coming and staying in the state," she said.
Chandler said she researched the bill by comparing New Mexico to the litigation environment in Colorado and other surrounding states.
"My goal was to understand what's going on and what I discovered is we're not competitive," she said. New Mexico also needs to consider loan repayments for physicians, housing support and other measures to bring physicians to the state.
"There are all kinds of things we could be doing but that does not excuse our unwillingness to act on medical malpractice," she said.
Tiffany Lewis, president of X-Ray Associates of New Mexico, said the shortage of radiologists in the state forced her firm to hire 20 temporary physicians in 2025 who stay for about two to four weeks.
Lisa Curtis, a trial attorney, told lawmakers that the bill would limit juries that want to send a message to large hospital corporations.
"What this bill does is take away from New Mexicans that sit on juries the ability to hold billion-dollar corporations accountable for reckless actions that cause death or serious injury to patients," Curtis said.
Duhigg said HB 99 is a "symbolic fix" that won't improve medical care in New Mexico. Punitive damages are the only way to force large hospital companies to change their behavior and offer better patient care, she said.
"I think that's a cruel thing to do to New Mexicans," Duhigg said.
Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said HB 99 does nothing to reduce the volume of medical malpractice claims in New Mexico.
"It looks like we're saying the driver of cost is the size of the claims," Sedillo Lopez said. "But we have more claims than a lot of other states and what that tells me is we have more malpractice in this state than other states."
Rio Rancho Market Street meat department workers vote to unionize - Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
Employees in the meat department of a Rio Rancho Albertsons Market Street grocery store voted unanimously to unionize in an election last month.
The grocery store, at 2200 Unser SE, is the third Albertsons-owned location in Rio Rancho to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1564, union officials said.
“We were honored that these employees reached out to us for help,” said UFCW Local 1564 President Greg Frazier.
The meat department — which includes meat cutters, deli clerks and butchers — is typically considered separate from the rest of a grocery store for union representation purposes, Frazier said.
“Meat cutting is a skill, and because of that, they’ve always wanted their own contracts,” he said.
Twenty workers voted in the election and none voted against the union, which represents around 1,200 Albertsons employees across New Mexico.
UFCW also recently welcomed new members in southern New Mexico. Last week, bakery workers at an Albertsons in Carlsbad voted 9-1 to join the union, Frazier said.
“We’ve seen a lot of activity with Albertsons because it’s a big difference between the union and the non-union benefits,” he said. “It doesn’t affect prices. Whether you shop at a non-union store or a union store, prices are going to be the same, but benefits and what the employees receive are quite different.”
The local votes to unionize come after workers at Albertsons and Smith’s stores across New Mexico voted to finalize new union contracts in July — narrowly avoiding a potential strike after UFCW alleged the companies had been engaging in unfair labor practices.
Albertsons spokesperson Abie Rampy did not address the collusion allegations in a June 2025 statement to the Journal, but said the company respects “the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining” and remains “committed to negotiating in good faith.”
Rampy did not respond to a request for comment on the Rio Rancho election.
New Mexico school cellphone ban clears Senate- Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
A bill banning the use of cellphones during the school day passed the state Senate, 32-6, late Sunday night.
Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Sens. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, and Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, is an amendment to Senate Bill 11 passed last year, which mandated schools adopt a policy regarding cellphone use.
SB 23 would prohibit cellphone usage from the first bell to the last bell of the school day, including during lunch and passing periods. The bill has exceptions for medical purposes — if a diabetic student needs to monitor their blood glucose on a cellphone, for example — instructional purposes, and in case of an emergency.
The ban includes any device capable of taking photographs or recording video. Schools are required to establish policies for the confiscation and storage of the devices. Some districts may choose to use lockable pouches, for which $1 million in funding from the state’s education technology infrastructure fund is available over a period of two years.
If the bill passes, New Mexico will join 26 other states that have banned cellphones in schools, Brantley said.
Those include “red states like Arkansas, and blue states like California,” Brantley told the Senate. “And they are all seeing great improvement.”
The bill received support from the New Mexico Public Education, Higher Education and Early Childhood Education and Care departments in the Senate Education Committee, as well as multiple education policy groups and both New Mexico teachers unions. There was no formal opposition in the meeting, though several senators showed reservations during Sunday night’s debate.
Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces, a former teacher, called the ban “totally unenforceable.” Cellphone policies, Soules said, were up to each school board and should not be decided by the state government.
Under SB 11, school districts already have the authority to ban cellphones completely, which some, such as Albuquerque Public Schools, have done, though they are not required to do so.
“Good teachers rarely have a problem with devices in classrooms,” Soules said.
The measure picked up some changes after it was introduced. The first adjustment removed the three-year implementation plan included in the first draft of the legislation. The plan would have started the cellphone ban with middle schoolers in the 2026-27 school year, then with high schoolers the following year, and finally with elementary schoolers in the 2028-29 school year. The ban will now take effect for all grades at once if it passes.
Another amendment, proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chair George Muñoz, D-Gallup, limits the number of years a school district can receive grants from the state for lockable pouches or other cellphone ban enforcement materials to two.
Some senators showed reservations about the cost of enforcing the ban. Muñoz said his wife bought an over-the-door shoe holder from Ross to hold cellphones in her classroom that has worked just as well as a locked pouch.
“We’re going to spend millions on a simple problem that we could have solved cheaply,” he said.
Shoe holders might work for young children, but don’t work so well for high schoolers, Brantley countered.
“The reality is that today’s schools look much different than classrooms when we were in them,” she said.
The six “no” votes came from Democrats Angel Charley of Acoma, Debbie O’Malley and Harold Pope of Albuquerque, Shannon Pinto of Tohatchi, Benny Shendo of Jemez Pueblo and Soules.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives. This year's legislative session ends Thursday.
New Mexico House unanimously enacts Epstein ‘truth commission’ - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico House on Monday voted unanimously to establish an investigatory subcommittee to examine the activities of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his former Zorro ranch in Santa Fe County.
Bill sponsor state Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) said the subcommittee will use subpoena powers, public records and testimony to “put the whole story together.”
In a statement following the vote, Romero said New Mexicans “deserve to know the truth about what went on at the Zorro Ranch and who knew about it. We have heard years of allegations and rumors about Epstein’s activities in New Mexico, but unfortunately, federal investigations have failed to put together an official record. With this Truth Commission, we can finally fill in the gaps by investigating the failures that led to the horrific allegations of abuse and crime at Zorro Ranch, so we can learn from them and prevent such atrocities from taking place in our state going forward.”
The legislation requires four representatives from both major parties sit on the subcommittee. House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) appointed the resolution’s four House sponsors: Romero, Marianna Anaya (D-Albuquerque), Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis) and William “Bill” Hall (R-Aztec).
The subcommittee, which runs through the end of the year but can be extended if needed, will have a budget of $2 million, all funded by a 2023 settlement between Attorney General Raúl Torrez and several financial services companies for failing to identify the abuses at the ranch.
Epstein purchased the 7,500-acre Zorro Ranch from former New Mexico Gov. Bruce King in 1993. According to court documents, the ranch, which has its own airstrip and helipad, was the site of sex trafficking, including by Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 as Epstein’s co-conspirator.
Previous investigations into Epstein’s activities have produced little information. Former Attorney General Hector Balderas’ criminal investigation in 2019 closed within the year without filing any charges.
Many Republicans had questions for Romero, including whether any additional information has emerged about allegations that two girls were buried near the ranch. New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard wrote to local and federal officials last week asking them to investigate the “disturbing allegation” and report back on any findings.
The New Mexico Department of Justice sent a Feb. 13 letter to federal officials seeking unredacted copies of the anonymous 2019 email to a local radio host saying that “foreign girls” died of strangulation at Zorro Ranch. The email is part of the trove of recently released Epstein documents, but remains unsubstantiated, according to the NMDOJ.
“While we have not yet received a response to our letter sent last Friday, we are reviewing all appropriate avenues to investigate the allegations raised, as well as any additional ones that may emerge,” NMDOJ Chief of Staff Lauren Rodriguez told Source NM in a statement. “We also continue to engage with Truth Commission leadership to ensure coordinated communication and meaningful participation in the ongoing fact-finding mission.”
Some members also wanted to know whether the subcommittee intends to prevent future activity such as has been alleged to have occurred at Zorro Ranch.
“Do you believe that this legislation could, in the future, help us hold these people and various actors from being able to be in a haven in New Mexico, from procuring our land and doing these horrifying things here,” state Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo) asked Romero.
Romero said whatever the commission learns, “we can also propose specific policies that can help close loops that were open for these crimes to take place or nefarious actions to take place.”
Romero said the subcommittee will hold its first meeting Tuesday morning.
NM Senate passes $11B budget without pay raise for state employees - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico Senate on Monday approved the state’s approximate $11 billion spending plan without a raise for state workers, which the House of Representatives’ budget had previously included.
While Democrats, who hold a majority in the chamber, all voted in favor of the budget in the 23-16 vote Monday afternoon, several criticized the Senate Finance Committee for eliminating a 1% raise for state employees, which includes public school teachers and higher education staff.
The House of Representatives’ budget bill passed last week earmarked $26 million for the raise.
Before the Legislature can send the budget to the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the House will have to take a vote on whether it agrees with the changes the Senate made. If it doesn’t, both chambers will meet in a conference committee to try to reconcile differences between the two budgets.
Senate Finance Chair Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup) said Monday that his committee made more than 300 changes to the House’s bill, though eliminating the state workers’ raises prompted the most debate from fellow Democrats.
Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Albuquerque) was one of several Democrats who said the state’s record budget, which holds more than $3 billion in reserves, has capacity to keep the raises. She said she fears failing to raise pay will drive workers out of the state.
“A lot of people choose to leave because they look at other opportunities they have in other states, and say, ‘You know, I’m not valued here,’” she said. “That’s not good for education in our state, and it’s not good for the operation of our state government.”
Muñoz said nixing the raises was necessary to fund other priorities like food assistance, care for the elderly and the New Mexico Commission for the Blind.
He also estimated that state workers have received $1.3 billion in raises since 2020, amounting to a 20% raise in that period. And he noted that the budget bill would pay for 80% of state employees’ health insurance costs.
“If there’s not a better deal than that,” he said, “I should quit my job and go to work for the state.”
On Saturday, several House lawmakers joined labor unions and other organizations for a Roundhouse rally that urged the Senate to restore the raises. The Valentine’s Day rally featured rallygoers with heart-shaped signs that said “0% Love” and “Low Pay.”
Whitney Holland, president of the American Federation of Teachers’ New Mexico chapter, said the 1% raise, while only amounting to a modest increase in every paycheck, is vital amid rising costs.
“You can call it a raise, but we see the 1% as a way to not fall further behind,” she said Saturday.
And Rep. Joseph Hernandez (D-Shiprock), who sits on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee that drafted the budget, said he had teachers in mind when he pushed for raises in the budget.
“’I’m proud of you who are still teaching in our local schools,” he said to cheers. “And the only way we show we are proud is by giving you guys a pay raise.”
Muñoz touted the overall budget as responsible amid projected revenue shortfalls while also making needed investments in areas like health care, water and housing.
All Senate Republicans voted against the budget, which they derided in a statement after the vote as another year of wasteful spending with not much to show in return. While less of an increase than previous years, this year’s budget continues a streak of record spending over the last five years.
“Democrats talk about affordability for the cameras yet they turn around and increase your taxes while recklessly spending more and more taxpayer dollars on programs that continuously fail in their intentions,” said Sen. Bill Sharer (D-Farmington), the Senate minority floor leader, in a statement.