THU: New Mexico governor signs medical compacts, Immigrant Safety Act, road bonds into law, + More
By KUNM News
February 5, 2026 at 8:28 AM MST
New Mexico governor signs medical compacts, Immigrant Safety Act, road bonds into law- Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed four bills relating to interstate licensed professional compacts, ICE detention and road construction projects into law Thursday morning while surrounded by lawmakers from both political parties.
She signed Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 50, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, which will make it easier for out-of-state physicians and social workers to move to and practice in New Mexico. She also signed House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, which prohibits local governments across the state from signing detention contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — though Torrance County officials notably renewed their contract after the bill passed and before the governor signed it. And she signed Senate Bill 2, which will authorize $1.5 billion in bonds for road construction projects across the state.
“This early in the session, getting legislation passed is hard, even with an interim and years of work,” Lujan Grisham said at the signing. “I am proud of the Legislature. They don’t need that, but I think the public needs to know that they are getting incredible things done.”
Several lawmakers who worked on the signed legislation spoke alongside the governor to praise one another for their bipartisan, swift action.
“Certainly, the governor and I agree on a lot of things. We also disagree on a lot of things,” Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington) said. “But in this particular case when we’re talking about compacts, absolutely we’re on the same team.”
Sharer’s Republican colleagues have been critical of House Bill 9, one of the other bills Lujan Grisham signed into law Thursday morning.
Lujan Grisham indicated that she was receptive to the criticism that HB9 could inadvertently put people in rural New Mexico counties out of work should detention centers close. To that end, she said, the House’s budget proposal contains $6 million to support workforce development in Torrance, Cibola and Otero counties, where the state’s three immigrant detention centers are located.
But it remained clear that there will be continued, lengthy negotiations over the priority bills that have not yet made their way to the governor’s desk.
Lujan Grisham has identified medical malpractice reform and universal child care, in particular, as efforts she wants to sign into law before the end of her second and final term. Minority Floor Leader Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) has previously said that without malpractice reform, the interstate medical compact gives New Mexico doctors “a full tank of gas to be able to go to other states.”
Supporters of both the compacts and malpractice reform say they go hand-in-hand to address New Mexico’s health care worker shortage. State law currently lacks caps on punitive damages that can be awarded at trial in a malpractice case; House Bill 99 would not only implement a cap for providers and locally owned hospitals, but it would also raise the standard of proof needed for a jury to award punitive damages.
A recent W.K. Kellogg Foundation study on New Mexico’s medical workforce shortage found that roughly one in three New Mexicans have had a health care provider leave the state or retire in the last two years. Similarly, one-third of New Mexicans have turned to emergency room care twice or more in the last year because they couldn’t get an appointment with a provider.
Lujan Grisham expressed reservations about an “unfriendly amendment” — meaning the bill’s sponsor opposes it — that would put a cap on punitive damages for everyone except corporate-owned hospitals.
“The amendment I’m a little concerned about. But it’s getting the proper debate,” Lujan Grisham told reporters Thursday. “I think unlimited liability or punitives in any context in medical malpractice is an unworkable situation for New Mexico. I don’t think it’s enough to turn the tide.”
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) added that the medical malpractice bill meaningfully addresses many other critical issues by protecting providers who work at those corporate-owned hospitals and by making punitive damages harder to come by, and added that he thinks negotiations are “90%” done.
Lujan Grisham was quick to interject.
“I don’t know if I would say it’s 90%,” she said. “But this is incredibly valuable and we’re really working hard to demonstrate that we can figure out how to solve complex problems in the state of New Mexico.”
Similarly, the governor made her reservations known about the ongoing debate over her universal child care initiative. Late last year, she unveiled a universal no-cost program for all New Mexicans to enroll their kids in child care. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed an $11 billion budget proposal, though, that would implement co-pays for higher-earning families. Unevenly requiring payments from families is not truly “universal,” Lujan Grisham said.
Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup) recently introduced Senate Bill 241, the Child Care Assistance Program Act, which would call for co-pays only under specific economic circumstances.
“Just because you’re a millionaire doesn’t mean you can’t participate,” he told reporters Thursday. “You pay taxes, too.”
The governor, for her part, said she thinks there’s still time for her initiative to come together as planned. When her office unveiled its executive budget recommendation in December, it called for an additional $160.6 million to adequately fund the initiative.
“I’m feeling good — I don’t want to jinx it — about fully funding universal child care,” she said.
New data shows patients struggling to access health care as providers consider leaving- Marjorie Childress, New Mexico in Depth
A new statewide study adds fresh data to whether New Mexico has a healthcare workforce shortage, a question hanging over debates at the Legislature as lawmakers grapple with a number of policy changes to help the state keep medical professionals. Hard numbers on the size of the state’s workforce of physicians and nurses and other medical professionals have proven difficult to pin down. But a recent survey of New Mexico residents finds widespread difficulty accessing care.
The February 2026 report, supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and conducted by BSP Research, draws on surveys of 1,000 residents of New Mexico, 381 current and former healthcare providers, and two provider focus groups.
The survey reflects consumers’ experiences, said Gabe Sanchez, vice president of research for BSP, who highlighted during a Thursday morning press briefing that 40% of respondents said they had lost their own medical provider over the past two years.
“That’s a powerful data point that I think speaks on behalf of the voices of New Mexicans,” Sanchez said. Whether or not the total number of providers has changed over the past decade “might be moot, right, if folks aren’t being able to access them for the care that they need.”
While the report builds on previous analyses of New Mexico’s healthcare system, its survey of 1,000 residents alongside hundreds of practitioners underscore the strain on both patients and medical providers. The overall picture that emerges is layered and complex. Residents describe rising costs and limited access. Providers point to legal exposure, compensation, taxation and burnout.
Among residents, 50% of those surveyed identified healthcare costs as the top challenge facing the state, while 45% cited a shortage of healthcare workers. The consequences are tangible: 37 % reported their provider had left the state or retired in the past two years; 24% said they skipped or postponed needed medical care; 33% turned to an emergency room because they could not get an appointment; and 23% traveled out of state for care.
Of the providers who were surveyed, 86% said they have considered leaving the medical field, retiring early or moving out of state while 30% reported having to turn patients away because their employer is not accepting new patients. Providers cited difficulty delivering quality care, the risk of being sued and the high cost of malpractice insurance as the top reasons for considering leaving. Among the changes they said would make practicing easier: expanding patients’ access to other doctors to reduce their own workload and revising medical malpractice laws to provide greater legal protection.
The report stresses that no single change will solve the problems.
“Medical professionals wanted to make clear that although big level reforms like malpractice are needed,” Sanchez said, “there’s a number of other issues within the healthcare system that need attention, and there’s not one single policy fix that’s going to save the day here… comprehensive action is needed.”
Respondents pointed to a mix of changes that would help beyond malpractice reform — from cutting billing paperwork and increasing the rate at which Medicaid, the government program meant to extend health insurance to low-income populations, reimburse for medical services to eliminating the state’s gross receipts tax on medical services, joining interstate licensure compacts, expanding student loan repayment programs and subsidizing medical education for students who commit to practice in New Mexico.
Early childhood educators urge New Mexico Senate to keep wage increase in budget- Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
Childcare workers and advocacy groups on Thursday called on New Mexico Senate lawmakers to ensure raises for early childhood education workers remain in the state budget, even as the governor’s vision of universal childcare remains a sticking point in budget negotiations.
In a news conference held outside the Roundhouse’s western steps, early childcare advocates said the Legislature must invest in raises, or risk people leaving the profession for higher paying jobs with more stability.
“The turnover is costly, not just for the resources for recruiting and training new staff but in disruption it causes for families who need our support,” said Alei Maxson, director of home-visiting startup La Luz Family.
Advocates urged members of the Senate Finance Committee in a letter Thursday to support a $60 million allotment in HB2 for the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department. The funding pays for a program to increase wages for educators with more qualifications.
Magnolia Chavez, who operates a home-licensed care center in Albuquerque for about 15 children of varied ages, said child care operators have for too long been “poorly paid and poorly valued.”
“Universal childcare will only work if the educators are willing and able to remain in this field,” Chavez said in Spanish outside of the Roundhouse Thursday. “When educators do not have stability, the families don’t have it either,” she said.
Child care has emerged as a top priority for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s last session. However, the $11 billion budget bill, which advanced out of the House this week, in its current form does not fully fund the governor’s vision for free universal childcare, which she unveiled last year and which has garnered national attention. The Legislature’s budget, instead, includes co-pays in the state’s child care program for higher-earning families, which the governor opposes.
“For me, universal childcare means if there’s a copay it’s not really universally applied,” Lujan Grisham said during a bill signing and news conference Thursday morning. Negotiations remain ongoing, she said.
Lawmakers hit midway point of the session with some key bills dispatched, others in limbo- Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
The clock is ticking at the Roundhouse.
Lawmakers reached the halfway point of the 30-day legislative session on Wednesday, with high-profile bills dealing with immigration and road funding already headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk for final approval.
Those measures, along with proposals to have New Mexico join interstate medical compacts for social workers and doctors, are expected to be signed by the governor this week.
But there's still lots of legislating to do before the session ends Feb. 19.
An $11.1 billion budget bill that would partially fund Lujan Grisham's universal child care initiative passed the House on a 55-15 vote Wednesday, but will face more scrutiny in the Senate.
In addition, hot-button bills dealing with medical malpractice, climate change and firearm sales all remain in limbo with just two weeks left in the session.
At a glance:
Six bills have so far won legislative approval during this year's 30-day session. Here's a look at the measures approved to date:
"I think folks are willing to take the pettiness out of it and focus on the issues," Padilla told the Journal.
He also said there's plenty of time to advance bills with the necessary support, saying, "Fifteen days is an eternity in a legislative session."
However, Senate Minority Leader William Sharer, R-Farmington, said he's less hopeful that lawmakers will pass legislation dealing with the state's medical malpractice laws and public safety.
"It's going to get more challenging as we get closer to the end," Sharer told the Journal.
In all, nearly 700 bills were filed in advance of a Wednesday bill filing deadline — 378 in the House and 313 in the Senate — along with roughly a dozen proposed constitutional amendments.
But many of those bills will not ultimately be taken up, since only budget-related measures and bills authorized by the governor can be considered in 30-day sessions, which are held in even-numbered years.
As of Wednesday, Lujan Grisham had issued executive messages for 130 bills so far during this year's session.
Partisan friction on budget bill
The spending plan for the coming budget year prompted a lengthy debate Wednesday in the House, despite previously having passed a House committee with bipartisan support.
During the floor debate, House Republicans proposed amendments boosting funding for the state's judicial system and calling for increased auditing of several state agencies' spending for possible fraud and misuse.
The amendments, proposed by Rep. Jonathan Henry, R-Artesia, also called for the state to reimburse local governments in New Mexico impacted by the possible closure of three privately run immigration detention facilities. Those facilities, located in Estancia, Chapparal and Milan, are the target of the immigration legislation, House Bill 9, that passed with support from most Democratic legislators and is awaiting the governor's signature.
"I don't see this is a bailout," Henry said. "New Mexico jobs are lost because of (the bill)."
But the proposed amendments were ultimately rejected on largely party-line votes.
Earlier in the day, key architects of the $11.1 billion spending plan described the bill as a responsible response to federal funding reductions and a cooling off of New Mexico's recent revenue growth.
"We know there's still a lot of uncertainty out there," said Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, the chairman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, during a Wednesday news conference.
He also said the budget bill would lay the foundation for universal child care in New Mexico, a top priority of the governor's administration during this year's session.
While the bill would not appropriate the entire $160 million in additional funding sought by the executive branch for the program, it would provide $60 million to raise the salaries of early childhood workers across the state.
In addition, the budget bill calls for child care co-pays for higher-income families — or those making more than $132,000 per year for a family of four. The exact dollar amount of those co-pays would be tiered depending on a family's gross income.
"We are showing our country exactly how it's done with our child care policy, and also our budget," said Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, during Wednesday's debate.
Republicans seek to slow advance of some bills
Even as Democratic legislative leaders have made good on their pledge to fast-track key bills to the governor's desk, Republicans have begun to use the parliamentary tools at their disposal to prolong debate.
Earlier this week, Senate Republicans delayed a vote on the House-approved immigration bill until late in the day by launching lengthy monologues on the chamber floor.
Sharer acknowledged the speeches were intended to send a message to majority Democrats.
"What we were trying to prove is you need to work with us, because we can stop this show," he said during an interview.
But he said extended GOP debate during Wednesday's floor session was not similarly orchestrated, and not intended to delay a committee hearing on a bill imposing new requirements on licensed firearm dealers in the state.
That bill, Senate Bill 17, would also prohibit the sale of certain "military-grade" weapons and has generated fierce debate during this year's session.
A revised version of the bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 6-3 vote late Wednesday evening, after an attempt to strip out the assault weapon ban failed. It now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
NM House approves $11 billion budget bill – Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico House of Representatives voted 55-15 after hours of debate on Wednesday to approve a roughly $11 billion state budget proposal.
House Bill 2, known as the budget bill, represents a “measured” increase in recurring spending of nearly $295 million, Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), who chairs the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, told reporters Wednesday morning ahead of the vote.
“That is a responsible increase, but it’s also very measured, reflecting the uncertain times and the truth that over committing to recurring increased spending can lead in economically uncertain times to painful budget cuts,” he said. “We’ve been very cautious.”
The proposed budget would allocate $254 million for health programs, including subsidies for New Mexicans on the health care exchange who would otherwise lose federal subsidies for low- and no-cost premiums. It would essentially double the size of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. And it would appropriate $22 million for an aquifer mapping program to gauge groundwater levels across the state.
The budget came with a notable asterisk, though. It would implement co-pays for higher-earning New Mexico families who want to access the universal child care program, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she wants to make free to all families, regardless of income.
“This budget in an economically challenging time makes big investments we can all be proud of as New Mexicans,” Small said before casting his “yes” vote.
It’s unclear whether such provisions in the proposed budget will win over the fourth floor of the Roundhouse. Lujan Grisham’s office has consistently said she opposes the child care co-pays and her push for universal free child care has drawn national attention. Small, for his part, said the co-pays remain the subject of ongoing negotiations but currently would be 4 to 5% of household income for families earning 400% of the national poverty level.
The governor “appreciates lawmakers’ attempts to fund universal child care, but she does not support co-pays when we have enough money to fund the initiative this year,” spokesperson Michael Coleman wrote in a Tuesday email to Source NM. “She continues to urge lawmakers to fully fund this historic initiative that will benefit New Mexico children and create economic opportunities for families across the state.”
When asked whether he thinks the co-pay proposal has legs, given the governor’s opposition, Small said it’s important to ensure the program is sustainable.
“I think that there is an understanding in the Legislature and the executive [branch] that financial sustainability and co-pays are linked,” he said. “Whether co-pays are a part of it right off the bat, that’s also dependent upon how many folks choose to sign up, at what time of year, at what level of income and what program.”
REPUBLICAN FLOOR AMENDMENTS TABLED
During debate, Republican lawmakers proposed a floor amendment aimed at the Immigrant Safety Act, which the Senate sent to the governor’s desk late Tuesday evening. The amendment would require the state to reimburse local governments “in which a facility” — presumably a detention center — “has closed due to the provisions of House Bill 9 or similar legislation.”
They also took aim at a $2.3 million appropriation for dormitory operations at the New Mexico School for the Arts, which critics said were only occupied by a few dozen students. Small responded and said that only one student in the dorms was able to pay the full fee for attendance and saw the appropriation as meaningful aid to families who need it.
After much debate, representatives voted 40-30 to table the amendment. Almost immediately, Rep. Jonathan Henry (R-Artesia) introduced a second floor amendment, which contained identical language regarding the Immigrant Safety Act.
“I don’t care what you think about detention facilities,” Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park), whose district includes the Torrance County Detention Facility, said from the House floor. Losing those facilities would take away one of the area’s only economic lifelines, she said.
“We are going to be left holding the bag,” Lord said. “If they close tomorrow, we’re done. It’s a ghost town.”
Representatives also voted 43-27 to table that amendment.
House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) told Lord he would stop recognizing her comments and move on to the next lawmaker in line to speak if she continued to use budget bill negotiations to discuss a different piece of legislation.
STABLE PRESENCE AMID NATIONAL 'CHAOS'
Beyond the child care issue, Small said the proposed budget was meant in part to address the ongoing national “chaos” of tariffs, trade wars and health and food assistance program cuts.
For months, lawmakers have worked behind the scenes and in public committee hearings to craft a budget that does more with less. In December, state economists told lawmakers that New Mexico’s economy was “treading water” while much of the nation was in or near a recession. Small at the time said the state was in a good position to continue paying for non-recurring projects, such as construction and other one-time purchases, but needed to be careful with taking on too much recurring spending.
Wednesday’s budget vote represents a slight decrease from the governor’s budget recommendation. In December, Lujan Grisham released an $11.3 billion budget recommendation, which represented a nearly $503 million recurring spending increase.
The budget now heads to the Senate.
Short-term rental regulations fail in City Council – Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
A proposed ordinance that would have put restrictions on short-term rentals in Albuquerque failed in the City Council on Monday, the third time such a policy has floundered.
“This doesn’t level the playing field,” said Councilor Dan Lewis, who voted down the ordinance.
The bill would have restricted permitting for short-term rentals, like Airbnbs and Vrbos, forcing rentals to be at least 330 feet apart, roughly one city block.
Proponents said such a rule would alleviate an Airbnb takeover in neighborhoods popular with tourists like Old Town and Nob Hill.
“This is a reasonable approach for an issue that affects a very small part of our city in a very big way,” said Councilor Joaquín Baca, who sponsored the legislation.
The proposed ordinance ultimately failed along familiar lines in a 4-5 vote, with more progressive-leaning councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Stephanie Telles, Nichole Rogers and Baca voting yes and more conservative-leaning councilors Lewis, Brooke Bassan, Dan Champine, Renée Grout and Council President Klarissa Peña voting no.
Before the vote, numerous short-term rental owners took to the podium to protest the proposed ordinance, saying it would affect their livelihoods and that it mischaracterized owners as greedy and detached from their communities.
“I am not a faceless corporation, I am a neighbor,” said short-term rental owner Darron Su.
Responding to owners' complaints, Telles said the legislation is not meant to target or penalize small business owners. Any pre-existing permitted rentals would be excluded from the 330-foot rule as long as the permit is renewed.
“Listen, we’re not cracking down on small STR owners, right?” Telles said. “We want that. We want a 'small is beautiful' economy in Albuquerque where we’re supporting our local entrepreneurs. This is a guardrail.”
Other public commenters echoed Telles' sentiments, expressing anxiety over out-of-state owners and corporations.
Proponents said that the lack of regulation for short-term rentals was pushing local families out of neighborhoods so that out-of-state owners could turn a profit on properties that are only occupied for a few weeks or months out of the year.
“I want us to penalize the land speculators who are sitting on vacant property (by) holding the reins on short-term rentals and landlords' greed,” said Trevor Selbee during public comment.
Additionally, Baca said the ordinance is necessary because many short-term rental owners are not playing by the rules, dodging permitting requirements and not paying lodgers taxes. As an example, Baca pointed to a dip in revenue from lodgers taxes during October, which is typically Albuquerque's biggest tourism season because of the Balloon Fiesta.
"We had a record year," Baca said.
New regulations are nothing to worry about, Baca said, unless an owner is already breaking the law and refuses to get into compliance.
Other councilors agreed that the short-term rental economy has gone unchecked in Albuquerque, but said that the solution was not more regulation — as the city already struggles with enforcement.
“Why are we not saying we need code enforcement with another 30 people?” said Champine. “So that we can go after the bad rentals, the bad landlords.”
Before the vote, Baca said that regardless of the outcome, he would support any measure to better staff Code Enforcement and catch owners dodging the law.
With another failed vote, this is the third time such a measure has lost steam. Similar ordinances that sought to regulate the number of short-term rentals in Albuquerque failed in both 2024 and 2023.
A memorial to address New Mexico’s rape kit backlog advances through first committee – Danielle Prokopp, Source New Mexico
Senate lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously advanced legislation that would establish a task force to address a growing rape kit backlog in New Mexico, just a decade after working to address a different backlog of untested evidence kits collected in sexual assault cases.
Senate Memorial 17, sponsored by Albuquerque Democratic Sens. Linda López and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, unanimously passed the Senate Rules Committee Wednesday morning.
SM17, which would only require passage through the Senate to go into effect, would establish a task force to study statewide progress in processing sexual assault examination kits and propose possible solutions to lawmakers by November 2026.
The Department of Public Safety, which owns the state’s lab for testing the kits, last year reported a backlog of 1,419 untested sexual assault kits, a significant jump from 2024, when it had 249 untested kits. The state evidence laboratory has hired additional forensic scientists and said in the fiscal analysis DPS will train them to address the backlog early this year.
The memorial establishes a 12-member task force headed by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety secretary and the executive director for the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. Other members would include representatives from the state police, state auditor’s office, attorney general’s office, the state’s evidence laboratory, sexual assault nurses and leadership from rural and urban rape crisis centers.
The state convened a similar task force in response to the 2016 state audit that found more than 5,000 untested evidence kits across the state, some dating back to the 1980s. While rape kit backlogs was a nationwide problem, New Mexico had the largest backlog per capita. All of the kits were tested by April 2021.
In 2019, lawmakers passed and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law the Survivor’s Bill of Rights. The law allows survivors to track the location of their sexual assault evidence kits through a barcode and requires state laboratories to test kits within 180 days of receipt.
Alexandria Taylor, the executive director of the Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs and an expert testifying for the bill, said the exact cause of the current backlog remains unknown.
Ten years later, the state needs to look at the fixes implemented to address the previous backlog and ensure they are still working or “determine if different things are necessary,” Taylor told Source NM in the halls of the Roundhouse.
Lawmakers from both parties vented their frustration about the problem’s reappearance.
Sen. Jay Block (R-Rio Rancho) put it bluntly to sponsors: “What the hell’s going on? I mean, if we’re putting these resources to it, why is the backlog happening?”
“We want to ask that exact question,” Taylor told Block in the committee.
Senate Pro Tem Mimi Steward (D-Albuquerque) called the recurrence of the issue “hard to bear” in statements during the committee.
“When this was first identified, we made all kinds of changes to police process so that they could not have rape kits sit around for years and years. And it seems as though they continue to not follow those processes,” Stewart said. “So we need another task force now to try to change their processes, because they’re just not doing it right — and it feels like they don’t care.”
SM17 heads to the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee next.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed four bills relating to interstate licensed professional compacts, ICE detention and road construction projects into law Thursday morning while surrounded by lawmakers from both political parties.
She signed Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 50, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, which will make it easier for out-of-state physicians and social workers to move to and practice in New Mexico. She also signed House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, which prohibits local governments across the state from signing detention contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — though Torrance County officials notably renewed their contract after the bill passed and before the governor signed it. And she signed Senate Bill 2, which will authorize $1.5 billion in bonds for road construction projects across the state.
“This early in the session, getting legislation passed is hard, even with an interim and years of work,” Lujan Grisham said at the signing. “I am proud of the Legislature. They don’t need that, but I think the public needs to know that they are getting incredible things done.”
Several lawmakers who worked on the signed legislation spoke alongside the governor to praise one another for their bipartisan, swift action.
“Certainly, the governor and I agree on a lot of things. We also disagree on a lot of things,” Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington) said. “But in this particular case when we’re talking about compacts, absolutely we’re on the same team.”
Sharer’s Republican colleagues have been critical of House Bill 9, one of the other bills Lujan Grisham signed into law Thursday morning.
Lujan Grisham indicated that she was receptive to the criticism that HB9 could inadvertently put people in rural New Mexico counties out of work should detention centers close. To that end, she said, the House’s budget proposal contains $6 million to support workforce development in Torrance, Cibola and Otero counties, where the state’s three immigrant detention centers are located.
But it remained clear that there will be continued, lengthy negotiations over the priority bills that have not yet made their way to the governor’s desk.
Lujan Grisham has identified medical malpractice reform and universal child care, in particular, as efforts she wants to sign into law before the end of her second and final term. Minority Floor Leader Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) has previously said that without malpractice reform, the interstate medical compact gives New Mexico doctors “a full tank of gas to be able to go to other states.”
Supporters of both the compacts and malpractice reform say they go hand-in-hand to address New Mexico’s health care worker shortage. State law currently lacks caps on punitive damages that can be awarded at trial in a malpractice case; House Bill 99 would not only implement a cap for providers and locally owned hospitals, but it would also raise the standard of proof needed for a jury to award punitive damages.
A recent W.K. Kellogg Foundation study on New Mexico’s medical workforce shortage found that roughly one in three New Mexicans have had a health care provider leave the state or retire in the last two years. Similarly, one-third of New Mexicans have turned to emergency room care twice or more in the last year because they couldn’t get an appointment with a provider.
Lujan Grisham expressed reservations about an “unfriendly amendment” — meaning the bill’s sponsor opposes it — that would put a cap on punitive damages for everyone except corporate-owned hospitals.
“The amendment I’m a little concerned about. But it’s getting the proper debate,” Lujan Grisham told reporters Thursday. “I think unlimited liability or punitives in any context in medical malpractice is an unworkable situation for New Mexico. I don’t think it’s enough to turn the tide.”
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) added that the medical malpractice bill meaningfully addresses many other critical issues by protecting providers who work at those corporate-owned hospitals and by making punitive damages harder to come by, and added that he thinks negotiations are “90%” done.
Lujan Grisham was quick to interject.
“I don’t know if I would say it’s 90%,” she said. “But this is incredibly valuable and we’re really working hard to demonstrate that we can figure out how to solve complex problems in the state of New Mexico.”
Similarly, the governor made her reservations known about the ongoing debate over her universal child care initiative. Late last year, she unveiled a universal no-cost program for all New Mexicans to enroll their kids in child care. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed an $11 billion budget proposal, though, that would implement co-pays for higher-earning families. Unevenly requiring payments from families is not truly “universal,” Lujan Grisham said.
Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup) recently introduced Senate Bill 241, the Child Care Assistance Program Act, which would call for co-pays only under specific economic circumstances.
“Just because you’re a millionaire doesn’t mean you can’t participate,” he told reporters Thursday. “You pay taxes, too.”
The governor, for her part, said she thinks there’s still time for her initiative to come together as planned. When her office unveiled its executive budget recommendation in December, it called for an additional $160.6 million to adequately fund the initiative.
“I’m feeling good — I don’t want to jinx it — about fully funding universal child care,” she said.
New data shows patients struggling to access health care as providers consider leaving- Marjorie Childress, New Mexico in Depth
A new statewide study adds fresh data to whether New Mexico has a healthcare workforce shortage, a question hanging over debates at the Legislature as lawmakers grapple with a number of policy changes to help the state keep medical professionals. Hard numbers on the size of the state’s workforce of physicians and nurses and other medical professionals have proven difficult to pin down. But a recent survey of New Mexico residents finds widespread difficulty accessing care.
The February 2026 report, supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and conducted by BSP Research, draws on surveys of 1,000 residents of New Mexico, 381 current and former healthcare providers, and two provider focus groups.
The survey reflects consumers’ experiences, said Gabe Sanchez, vice president of research for BSP, who highlighted during a Thursday morning press briefing that 40% of respondents said they had lost their own medical provider over the past two years.
“That’s a powerful data point that I think speaks on behalf of the voices of New Mexicans,” Sanchez said. Whether or not the total number of providers has changed over the past decade “might be moot, right, if folks aren’t being able to access them for the care that they need.”
While the report builds on previous analyses of New Mexico’s healthcare system, its survey of 1,000 residents alongside hundreds of practitioners underscore the strain on both patients and medical providers. The overall picture that emerges is layered and complex. Residents describe rising costs and limited access. Providers point to legal exposure, compensation, taxation and burnout.
Among residents, 50% of those surveyed identified healthcare costs as the top challenge facing the state, while 45% cited a shortage of healthcare workers. The consequences are tangible: 37 % reported their provider had left the state or retired in the past two years; 24% said they skipped or postponed needed medical care; 33% turned to an emergency room because they could not get an appointment; and 23% traveled out of state for care.
Of the providers who were surveyed, 86% said they have considered leaving the medical field, retiring early or moving out of state while 30% reported having to turn patients away because their employer is not accepting new patients. Providers cited difficulty delivering quality care, the risk of being sued and the high cost of malpractice insurance as the top reasons for considering leaving. Among the changes they said would make practicing easier: expanding patients’ access to other doctors to reduce their own workload and revising medical malpractice laws to provide greater legal protection.
The report stresses that no single change will solve the problems.
“Medical professionals wanted to make clear that although big level reforms like malpractice are needed,” Sanchez said, “there’s a number of other issues within the healthcare system that need attention, and there’s not one single policy fix that’s going to save the day here… comprehensive action is needed.”
Respondents pointed to a mix of changes that would help beyond malpractice reform — from cutting billing paperwork and increasing the rate at which Medicaid, the government program meant to extend health insurance to low-income populations, reimburse for medical services to eliminating the state’s gross receipts tax on medical services, joining interstate licensure compacts, expanding student loan repayment programs and subsidizing medical education for students who commit to practice in New Mexico.
Early childhood educators urge New Mexico Senate to keep wage increase in budget- Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
Childcare workers and advocacy groups on Thursday called on New Mexico Senate lawmakers to ensure raises for early childhood education workers remain in the state budget, even as the governor’s vision of universal childcare remains a sticking point in budget negotiations.
In a news conference held outside the Roundhouse’s western steps, early childcare advocates said the Legislature must invest in raises, or risk people leaving the profession for higher paying jobs with more stability.
“The turnover is costly, not just for the resources for recruiting and training new staff but in disruption it causes for families who need our support,” said Alei Maxson, director of home-visiting startup La Luz Family.
Advocates urged members of the Senate Finance Committee in a letter Thursday to support a $60 million allotment in HB2 for the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department. The funding pays for a program to increase wages for educators with more qualifications.
Magnolia Chavez, who operates a home-licensed care center in Albuquerque for about 15 children of varied ages, said child care operators have for too long been “poorly paid and poorly valued.”
“Universal childcare will only work if the educators are willing and able to remain in this field,” Chavez said in Spanish outside of the Roundhouse Thursday. “When educators do not have stability, the families don’t have it either,” she said.
Child care has emerged as a top priority for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s last session. However, the $11 billion budget bill, which advanced out of the House this week, in its current form does not fully fund the governor’s vision for free universal childcare, which she unveiled last year and which has garnered national attention. The Legislature’s budget, instead, includes co-pays in the state’s child care program for higher-earning families, which the governor opposes.
“For me, universal childcare means if there’s a copay it’s not really universally applied,” Lujan Grisham said during a bill signing and news conference Thursday morning. Negotiations remain ongoing, she said.
Lawmakers hit midway point of the session with some key bills dispatched, others in limbo- Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
The clock is ticking at the Roundhouse.
Lawmakers reached the halfway point of the 30-day legislative session on Wednesday, with high-profile bills dealing with immigration and road funding already headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk for final approval.
Those measures, along with proposals to have New Mexico join interstate medical compacts for social workers and doctors, are expected to be signed by the governor this week.
But there's still lots of legislating to do before the session ends Feb. 19.
An $11.1 billion budget bill that would partially fund Lujan Grisham's universal child care initiative passed the House on a 55-15 vote Wednesday, but will face more scrutiny in the Senate.
In addition, hot-button bills dealing with medical malpractice, climate change and firearm sales all remain in limbo with just two weeks left in the session.
At a glance:
Six bills have so far won legislative approval during this year's 30-day session. Here's a look at the measures approved to date:
- House Bill 1 — Feed bill to pay for session expenses.
- House Bill 9 — Bars local governments from participating in federal civil immigration detention system.
- House Bill 50 — Interstate medical compact for social workers.
- Senate Bill 1 — Interstate medical compact for physicians.
- Senate Bill 2 — Increases funding for statewide road repairs and construction.
- Senate Bill 19 — Allows Public Education Department to reset unit value for school funding after session concludes.
"I think folks are willing to take the pettiness out of it and focus on the issues," Padilla told the Journal.
He also said there's plenty of time to advance bills with the necessary support, saying, "Fifteen days is an eternity in a legislative session."
However, Senate Minority Leader William Sharer, R-Farmington, said he's less hopeful that lawmakers will pass legislation dealing with the state's medical malpractice laws and public safety.
"It's going to get more challenging as we get closer to the end," Sharer told the Journal.
In all, nearly 700 bills were filed in advance of a Wednesday bill filing deadline — 378 in the House and 313 in the Senate — along with roughly a dozen proposed constitutional amendments.
But many of those bills will not ultimately be taken up, since only budget-related measures and bills authorized by the governor can be considered in 30-day sessions, which are held in even-numbered years.
As of Wednesday, Lujan Grisham had issued executive messages for 130 bills so far during this year's session.
Partisan friction on budget bill
The spending plan for the coming budget year prompted a lengthy debate Wednesday in the House, despite previously having passed a House committee with bipartisan support.
During the floor debate, House Republicans proposed amendments boosting funding for the state's judicial system and calling for increased auditing of several state agencies' spending for possible fraud and misuse.
The amendments, proposed by Rep. Jonathan Henry, R-Artesia, also called for the state to reimburse local governments in New Mexico impacted by the possible closure of three privately run immigration detention facilities. Those facilities, located in Estancia, Chapparal and Milan, are the target of the immigration legislation, House Bill 9, that passed with support from most Democratic legislators and is awaiting the governor's signature.
"I don't see this is a bailout," Henry said. "New Mexico jobs are lost because of (the bill)."
But the proposed amendments were ultimately rejected on largely party-line votes.
Earlier in the day, key architects of the $11.1 billion spending plan described the bill as a responsible response to federal funding reductions and a cooling off of New Mexico's recent revenue growth.
"We know there's still a lot of uncertainty out there," said Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, the chairman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, during a Wednesday news conference.
He also said the budget bill would lay the foundation for universal child care in New Mexico, a top priority of the governor's administration during this year's session.
While the bill would not appropriate the entire $160 million in additional funding sought by the executive branch for the program, it would provide $60 million to raise the salaries of early childhood workers across the state.
In addition, the budget bill calls for child care co-pays for higher-income families — or those making more than $132,000 per year for a family of four. The exact dollar amount of those co-pays would be tiered depending on a family's gross income.
"We are showing our country exactly how it's done with our child care policy, and also our budget," said Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, during Wednesday's debate.
Republicans seek to slow advance of some bills
Even as Democratic legislative leaders have made good on their pledge to fast-track key bills to the governor's desk, Republicans have begun to use the parliamentary tools at their disposal to prolong debate.
Earlier this week, Senate Republicans delayed a vote on the House-approved immigration bill until late in the day by launching lengthy monologues on the chamber floor.
Sharer acknowledged the speeches were intended to send a message to majority Democrats.
"What we were trying to prove is you need to work with us, because we can stop this show," he said during an interview.
But he said extended GOP debate during Wednesday's floor session was not similarly orchestrated, and not intended to delay a committee hearing on a bill imposing new requirements on licensed firearm dealers in the state.
That bill, Senate Bill 17, would also prohibit the sale of certain "military-grade" weapons and has generated fierce debate during this year's session.
A revised version of the bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 6-3 vote late Wednesday evening, after an attempt to strip out the assault weapon ban failed. It now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
NM House approves $11 billion budget bill – Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico House of Representatives voted 55-15 after hours of debate on Wednesday to approve a roughly $11 billion state budget proposal.
House Bill 2, known as the budget bill, represents a “measured” increase in recurring spending of nearly $295 million, Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), who chairs the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, told reporters Wednesday morning ahead of the vote.
“That is a responsible increase, but it’s also very measured, reflecting the uncertain times and the truth that over committing to recurring increased spending can lead in economically uncertain times to painful budget cuts,” he said. “We’ve been very cautious.”
The proposed budget would allocate $254 million for health programs, including subsidies for New Mexicans on the health care exchange who would otherwise lose federal subsidies for low- and no-cost premiums. It would essentially double the size of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. And it would appropriate $22 million for an aquifer mapping program to gauge groundwater levels across the state.
The budget came with a notable asterisk, though. It would implement co-pays for higher-earning New Mexico families who want to access the universal child care program, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she wants to make free to all families, regardless of income.
“This budget in an economically challenging time makes big investments we can all be proud of as New Mexicans,” Small said before casting his “yes” vote.
It’s unclear whether such provisions in the proposed budget will win over the fourth floor of the Roundhouse. Lujan Grisham’s office has consistently said she opposes the child care co-pays and her push for universal free child care has drawn national attention. Small, for his part, said the co-pays remain the subject of ongoing negotiations but currently would be 4 to 5% of household income for families earning 400% of the national poverty level.
The governor “appreciates lawmakers’ attempts to fund universal child care, but she does not support co-pays when we have enough money to fund the initiative this year,” spokesperson Michael Coleman wrote in a Tuesday email to Source NM. “She continues to urge lawmakers to fully fund this historic initiative that will benefit New Mexico children and create economic opportunities for families across the state.”
When asked whether he thinks the co-pay proposal has legs, given the governor’s opposition, Small said it’s important to ensure the program is sustainable.
“I think that there is an understanding in the Legislature and the executive [branch] that financial sustainability and co-pays are linked,” he said. “Whether co-pays are a part of it right off the bat, that’s also dependent upon how many folks choose to sign up, at what time of year, at what level of income and what program.”
REPUBLICAN FLOOR AMENDMENTS TABLED
During debate, Republican lawmakers proposed a floor amendment aimed at the Immigrant Safety Act, which the Senate sent to the governor’s desk late Tuesday evening. The amendment would require the state to reimburse local governments “in which a facility” — presumably a detention center — “has closed due to the provisions of House Bill 9 or similar legislation.”
They also took aim at a $2.3 million appropriation for dormitory operations at the New Mexico School for the Arts, which critics said were only occupied by a few dozen students. Small responded and said that only one student in the dorms was able to pay the full fee for attendance and saw the appropriation as meaningful aid to families who need it.
After much debate, representatives voted 40-30 to table the amendment. Almost immediately, Rep. Jonathan Henry (R-Artesia) introduced a second floor amendment, which contained identical language regarding the Immigrant Safety Act.
“I don’t care what you think about detention facilities,” Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park), whose district includes the Torrance County Detention Facility, said from the House floor. Losing those facilities would take away one of the area’s only economic lifelines, she said.
“We are going to be left holding the bag,” Lord said. “If they close tomorrow, we’re done. It’s a ghost town.”
Representatives also voted 43-27 to table that amendment.
House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) told Lord he would stop recognizing her comments and move on to the next lawmaker in line to speak if she continued to use budget bill negotiations to discuss a different piece of legislation.
STABLE PRESENCE AMID NATIONAL 'CHAOS'
Beyond the child care issue, Small said the proposed budget was meant in part to address the ongoing national “chaos” of tariffs, trade wars and health and food assistance program cuts.
For months, lawmakers have worked behind the scenes and in public committee hearings to craft a budget that does more with less. In December, state economists told lawmakers that New Mexico’s economy was “treading water” while much of the nation was in or near a recession. Small at the time said the state was in a good position to continue paying for non-recurring projects, such as construction and other one-time purchases, but needed to be careful with taking on too much recurring spending.
Wednesday’s budget vote represents a slight decrease from the governor’s budget recommendation. In December, Lujan Grisham released an $11.3 billion budget recommendation, which represented a nearly $503 million recurring spending increase.
The budget now heads to the Senate.
Short-term rental regulations fail in City Council – Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
A proposed ordinance that would have put restrictions on short-term rentals in Albuquerque failed in the City Council on Monday, the third time such a policy has floundered.
“This doesn’t level the playing field,” said Councilor Dan Lewis, who voted down the ordinance.
The bill would have restricted permitting for short-term rentals, like Airbnbs and Vrbos, forcing rentals to be at least 330 feet apart, roughly one city block.
Proponents said such a rule would alleviate an Airbnb takeover in neighborhoods popular with tourists like Old Town and Nob Hill.
“This is a reasonable approach for an issue that affects a very small part of our city in a very big way,” said Councilor Joaquín Baca, who sponsored the legislation.
The proposed ordinance ultimately failed along familiar lines in a 4-5 vote, with more progressive-leaning councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Stephanie Telles, Nichole Rogers and Baca voting yes and more conservative-leaning councilors Lewis, Brooke Bassan, Dan Champine, Renée Grout and Council President Klarissa Peña voting no.
Before the vote, numerous short-term rental owners took to the podium to protest the proposed ordinance, saying it would affect their livelihoods and that it mischaracterized owners as greedy and detached from their communities.
“I am not a faceless corporation, I am a neighbor,” said short-term rental owner Darron Su.
Responding to owners' complaints, Telles said the legislation is not meant to target or penalize small business owners. Any pre-existing permitted rentals would be excluded from the 330-foot rule as long as the permit is renewed.
“Listen, we’re not cracking down on small STR owners, right?” Telles said. “We want that. We want a 'small is beautiful' economy in Albuquerque where we’re supporting our local entrepreneurs. This is a guardrail.”
Other public commenters echoed Telles' sentiments, expressing anxiety over out-of-state owners and corporations.
Proponents said that the lack of regulation for short-term rentals was pushing local families out of neighborhoods so that out-of-state owners could turn a profit on properties that are only occupied for a few weeks or months out of the year.
“I want us to penalize the land speculators who are sitting on vacant property (by) holding the reins on short-term rentals and landlords' greed,” said Trevor Selbee during public comment.
Additionally, Baca said the ordinance is necessary because many short-term rental owners are not playing by the rules, dodging permitting requirements and not paying lodgers taxes. As an example, Baca pointed to a dip in revenue from lodgers taxes during October, which is typically Albuquerque's biggest tourism season because of the Balloon Fiesta.
"We had a record year," Baca said.
New regulations are nothing to worry about, Baca said, unless an owner is already breaking the law and refuses to get into compliance.
Other councilors agreed that the short-term rental economy has gone unchecked in Albuquerque, but said that the solution was not more regulation — as the city already struggles with enforcement.
“Why are we not saying we need code enforcement with another 30 people?” said Champine. “So that we can go after the bad rentals, the bad landlords.”
Before the vote, Baca said that regardless of the outcome, he would support any measure to better staff Code Enforcement and catch owners dodging the law.
With another failed vote, this is the third time such a measure has lost steam. Similar ordinances that sought to regulate the number of short-term rentals in Albuquerque failed in both 2024 and 2023.
A memorial to address New Mexico’s rape kit backlog advances through first committee – Danielle Prokopp, Source New Mexico
Senate lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously advanced legislation that would establish a task force to address a growing rape kit backlog in New Mexico, just a decade after working to address a different backlog of untested evidence kits collected in sexual assault cases.
Senate Memorial 17, sponsored by Albuquerque Democratic Sens. Linda López and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, unanimously passed the Senate Rules Committee Wednesday morning.
SM17, which would only require passage through the Senate to go into effect, would establish a task force to study statewide progress in processing sexual assault examination kits and propose possible solutions to lawmakers by November 2026.
The Department of Public Safety, which owns the state’s lab for testing the kits, last year reported a backlog of 1,419 untested sexual assault kits, a significant jump from 2024, when it had 249 untested kits. The state evidence laboratory has hired additional forensic scientists and said in the fiscal analysis DPS will train them to address the backlog early this year.
The memorial establishes a 12-member task force headed by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety secretary and the executive director for the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. Other members would include representatives from the state police, state auditor’s office, attorney general’s office, the state’s evidence laboratory, sexual assault nurses and leadership from rural and urban rape crisis centers.
The state convened a similar task force in response to the 2016 state audit that found more than 5,000 untested evidence kits across the state, some dating back to the 1980s. While rape kit backlogs was a nationwide problem, New Mexico had the largest backlog per capita. All of the kits were tested by April 2021.
In 2019, lawmakers passed and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law the Survivor’s Bill of Rights. The law allows survivors to track the location of their sexual assault evidence kits through a barcode and requires state laboratories to test kits within 180 days of receipt.
Alexandria Taylor, the executive director of the Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs and an expert testifying for the bill, said the exact cause of the current backlog remains unknown.
Ten years later, the state needs to look at the fixes implemented to address the previous backlog and ensure they are still working or “determine if different things are necessary,” Taylor told Source NM in the halls of the Roundhouse.
Lawmakers from both parties vented their frustration about the problem’s reappearance.
Sen. Jay Block (R-Rio Rancho) put it bluntly to sponsors: “What the hell’s going on? I mean, if we’re putting these resources to it, why is the backlog happening?”
“We want to ask that exact question,” Taylor told Block in the committee.
Senate Pro Tem Mimi Steward (D-Albuquerque) called the recurrence of the issue “hard to bear” in statements during the committee.
“When this was first identified, we made all kinds of changes to police process so that they could not have rape kits sit around for years and years. And it seems as though they continue to not follow those processes,” Stewart said. “So we need another task force now to try to change their processes, because they’re just not doing it right — and it feels like they don’t care.”
SM17 heads to the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee next.