Gov & Politics
Second Chance bill has better chances to pass than in previous years
A proposal to end life without parole as a sentencing option for children and decrease how long someone convicted as a juvenile would have to be in prison before a parole board could consider their case has significantly better chances to pass than in prior legislative sessions. Senate Bill 64 would end life without parole […]
Lawmaker who works in health care pushes for New Mexico to codify nurse-to-patient ratios
While New Mexico continues to struggle with a nursing shortage, a lawmaker with experience in the health care field wants to pass a bill that would limit how many patients a nurse has to oversee. Rep. Eleanor Chavez (D-Albuquerque) is the executive director of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, District 1199. […]
Governments within NM would no longer enter detention contracts with ICE under proposed legislation
About a decade ago, Itzayana Banda’s father called to tell her how horribly officials at the Otero County Processing Center were treating him and how he couldn’t stand it anymore. Eight months later, she said in an interview, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement deported him. It was another 10 years before Banda got to see […]
How New Mexico child care workers got the state to invest in their industry
Merline Gallegos’ child care center has been on the verge of closing many times. She’s long struggled to pay her workers the wages she believes they deserve, and when the pandemic hit, things only got worse. “We were going to close or we needed to find some help,” Gallegos, 36, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, […]
Biden, Democrats to U.S. House Republicans: Show us your debt limit plan
WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders huddled with President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, ahead of what will be a tumultuous few months, with lawmakers sharply divided on the debt limit and short on time. “I have no intention of letting the Republicans wreck our economy, nor does anybody around this table,” Biden said […]
U.S. House GOP takes aim at fake pills containing deadly fentanyl sold on social media
WASHINGTON — On a June 2020 morning, Amy Neville entered her son’s bedroom to wake him for an orthodontist appointment. Fourteen-year-old Alex didn’t wake up. He died of fentanyl poisoning after taking a counterfeit pill he bought from someone he met on Snapchat, Neville told GOP lawmakers Wednesday during a roundtable discussion of the role […]
The New Mexico Voting Rights Act: What’s in and what’s out
A sprawling proposal to expand and return the right to vote to more New Mexicans could finally become a reality this session after years of legislative and community effort, according to Democratic leaders, pro-democracy organizers and the state’s top election official. In the short 30-day session in 2022, opponents argued they were not given enough […]
Classified material found in the Indiana home of former VP Mike Pence
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence is the latest top public official to have been discovered possessing classified material in his personal home, according to a letter his lawyer sent to the National Archives. A dozen documents with classified markings were discovered in Pence’s residence in Carmel, Indiana, in mid-January. The former vice president […]
Wave of mass shootings prompts Biden to call yet again for assault weapons ban
WASHINGTON — Following a mass shooting on the eve of Lunar New Year in which 11 people in a predominantly Asian neighborhood in California were killed, President Joe Biden on Wednesday again urged Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons. Communities across America “have been struck by tragedy after tragedy, including mass shootings from Colorado […]
Supporters turn out to champion affirmative consent in Roundhouse hearing
Legislation making its way through the session would transform how sexual assault cases are handled by public schools and New Mexico colleges that take state money. And it would make what’s known as “affirmative consent” a part of sex ed in high school health classes. In a room full of educators, students, survivors of sexual […]
Governor: N.M. prison medical care contracts leave ‘a lot to be desired’
New Mexico’s governor and lawmakers from both parties are again pushing legislation that would require people accused of a crime to prove that they are not too dangerous to release before a trial. They are also trying to get 1,000 more police officers hired and working around the state. Those two initiatives, if successful, would […]
Navajo Nation Council sets historic leadership
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Evolution is happening within the Navajo Nation government. Historically, many leadership positions, including Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council have been held by men. Crystalyne Curley is changing that path. On Monday, the Navajo Nation 25th Council voted to make Curley the first woman to hold the speaker position in the […]