Lujan Grisham's legislative agenda for special session falls flat among lawmakers

May 6—State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed skepticism Monday about Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's legislative agenda for a special session in July focused on public safety.

Members of the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee questioned in particular whether the governor is moving too quickly on a civil and criminal competency bill described as a "complete retooling of our system." Some wondered if such legislation should instead be fleshed out ahead of next year's regular 60-day session.

"My fear is that we're going to rush to pass something, and it's not going to work," Rep. Alan Martinez, R-Bernalillo, said Monday at the Capitol after members of the governor's staff presented a broad overview of her proposals for what is expected to be a dayslong session.

They started with the complex competency bill.

The governor is proposing a two-pronged civil and criminal mental competency bill that would make assisted outpatient treatment mandatory in every judicial district in the state.

"It's going to maybe cause more issues, unintended consequences," Martinez said.

Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, said the proposal may be too complicated for a short session.

"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 lift those immense elements and get it right," she said.

Lawmakers also challenged whether a roadway safety bill would meet constitutional muster and whether a proposal to enhance the penalty for a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm would do much to address crime.

Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said repeated changes since 2018 in the law prohibiting felons from possessing a firearm haven't moved the needle in New Mexico.

"The Legislature, as long as I've been here, has been criticized for being too soft on [crime], that we're not aggressive here," he said.

"DWI has been a popular subject where we're criticized for not having strong DWI laws because we have the worst statistics on DWI in the country, so let's increase the laws — and what good does that do if the cops are on the take?" Cervantes said, referring to a scandal over dismissed DWI cases involving officers at the Albuquerque Police Department.

Cervantes also chided Ben Baker, the governor's senior public safety adviser, for making a comparison between the number of arrests on charges of DWI and being felon in possession of a firearm. The comparison showed an almost equal number of arrests for each crime among detainees at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque in the first four months of the year.

"I gotta tell you, that's an entirely fallacious argument," Cervantes said. "If we put our emphasis on shoplifting arrests, we'd see a huge spike in shoplifting arrests. It doesn't mean that shoplifting is increasing."

He also noted a previous presenter, state District Judge James M. Hudson, had reported that only 4% of his cases involved mental competency.

"To me, when we have a serious crime problem in New Mexico as we do in Albuquerque, if competency is 4% of the cases, let's get real," Cervantes said. "Is that really the best we can do with the special session? Is that really the best we can do with our ample resources and with our time ... when competency seemingly is not a significant number of crime cases? ... Same thing with increasing sentences. Is it really the best we can do? I don't really think it is."

Sen. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell, said he might not know how to respond when his constituents ask how they and their children are safer as a result of the special session.

"I would encourage the governor to really look at doing some things that will make our streets safer, that will make our people safer in their neighborhoods, that will get the attention of those that do harm to their fellow man and make them think twice ... because we do have a problem," Nibert said. "I recognize it. I think everybody in New Mexico recognizes it."

Holly Agajanian, Lujan Grisham's chief general counsel, told lawmakers on the committee the governor's mental competency proposal calls for a "much broader swath of eligibility" on the civil side,

"At every stage, the individual respondent ... is going to be entitled to counsel throughout, from beginning to end," she said.

On the criminal side, a police officer would have the option "not to even arrest somebody for a misdemeanor" if they agree to what she called "crisis stabilization."

Agajanian described the effort as a "big" moonshot.

"It's going to be really difficult," she said. "But I think one of the things that's important to remember here is that a lot of people are so frustrated — this is so big and so hard — that it's really easy to just throw our hands up and say, 'There's nothing we can do about it because it's too hard.' I'm sure you know that I don't work for somebody who accepts that as an answer."

Rep. Christine Chandler, a Los Alamos Democrat who chairs the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, concluded the meeting by sharing her commitment to the governor: "trying to get to a place where we have viable, well-crafted bills that address real problems."

"I maintain that, and I will certainly do that, but I think in the comments that you've heard right now today, there are some serious things that we're going to have to address," Chandler told Agajanian and Baker.

"I'm sure the committee is committed to working with you in a constructive way, not in an obstructive way," she added. "We will do that, but there's a lot that's going to have to be done to get from here to July 18."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.