ACLU-NM, advocates ask New Mexico governor to halt special session
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — More than a dozen advocacy groups are calling on the governor to cancel the special legislative session planned for this month. The governor called the special session with a plan to address the state’s criminal code and the rules for determining competency to stand trial.
“What we’re calling on her to do is to scrap the plans for the special session and instead really use the time between now and the regular 60-day session to regroup, convene experts, community partners, people who are most impacted by these issues and to really come up with some solutions that will actually keep us safe,” said Daniel Williams, policing policy advocate at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM).
Holly Agajanian, the chief general counsel for the Office of the Governor, previously told lawmakers that the idea for the special session is to do a “complete re-tooling” of the criminal competency system. Now, advocates are concerned that the issues are too complex to solve in a brief special session.
“Unfortunately, the time just hasn’t been there to get these proposals—most of which are addressing really complicated systems, really complicated issues, lots of nuance and depth there—the time just hasn’t been enough to get those things right, and the time for a special session which is you know maybe 48 hours, that’s certainly not enough for the legislature’s deliberative process to address these things,” Williams said.
” . . . we write to you today to urge you to reconsider the call for a special legislative session to
address ‘public safety,’ as we strongly believe the legislative proposals put forth will have a
detrimental impact on New Mexicans, rather than achieving the aims you seek . . .” the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) and other advocacy groups wrote in a letter to the governor. You can read the full letter at this link.
Educators, consultants, and lawyers have outsized representation in New Mexico’s legislature
While the exact details of the governor’s proposals are not yet set in stone, the ACLU-NM and other advocates say that “with less than two weeks to go before session is slated to begin and an obvious lack of consensus between lawmakers on the (continually shifting) legislative proposals, there is simply no way to achieve the solutions New Mexicans deserve.”
The groups say there are community issues that need solutions, but that more time is needed to develop those solutions. So, they’re asking the governor to tackle the issues in a regular 60-day legislative session. In particular, the advocacy groups take issue with:
The proposal to expand legal definitions of “harm to self” and the like, which advocates say could threaten individuals’ rights and do not tackle underlying mental health care shortages
The potential to strip judges and prosecutors of their ability to make case-by-case decisions in involuntary commitment cases
The discussion to fine or jail unhoused individuals on roadway medians, which advocates say does not address underlying reasons for homelessness and could simply exacerbate the financial challenges unhoused people face
“Unfortunately, the common thread across all of the proposals is that they’re not the real solutions to our problems. In fact, it’s just more of the same failed approaches that we’ve seen in this state and in the country for years,” Williams said, “It’s an overreliance on punishment, it’s an overreliance on incarceration, an overreliance on the criminal legal system. We know that those kind of ‘tough on crime’ policies aren’t really what creates safety in our community.”
Williams says they favor an approach that has more emphasis on a public health approach: “We really need to be looking at, ‘how can we best support our community?’ ‘How can we best come together and really address these things?’ Not through incarceration, but through support.”
Community advocates are not the only ones who have expressed concern about the limited time for trying to pass laws on complicated topics. Some lawmakers have also expressed concern. In a committee meeting back in May, Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Do?a Ana) said: “It terrifies me that we’re talking about a bill that includes a civil component and a criminal component and that somehow, in a special session, we’re going to look at those elements and get it right.”
“We really hope that the governor is going to hear the voices from the community that this is not what we need; that the solutions she’s putting forward in a special session aren’t solutions; and that the special session is just not going to do what she hopes it does,” Williams said.
In response to the advocates’ letter, the governor’s communications director, Michael
Coleman said:
“While the governor appreciates input from mental health and social justice advocates, calling off the special session and doing nothing is not an option. The status quo is not working in New Mexico, and every day that the root causes of crime and other public safety challenges go unaddressed is another day that New Mexicans are placed at risk.
The bills the governor has proposed will provide accountability and treatment for those who become entangled in the criminal justice system because of underlying mental health challenges, while improving the safety of New Mexico’s communities. She’s asking law enforcement to beef up its collection and reporting of data about crime to help the state improve its strategies for fighting it. The bill to address median safety is not an attack on the homeless, it’s a common-sense strategy to reduce New Mexico’s first-in-the-nation status for pedestrian fatalities. The governor has also requested that lawmakers agree to stiffen penalties for convicted felons in possession of guns –– a clear violation of state and federal law and a primary driver of violent crime in our state.
The governor and her staff have been engaged in meetings with legislators and other stakeholders on these issues for months.
Enough is enough and this can’t wait.”
Michael Coleman, communications director for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
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