A comprehensive crime statute receives the approval of the legislature in New Mexico
SANTA FE, NM (AP) — A wide range of crime-fighting initiatives won Legislature approval Thursday as New Mexico grapples with concerns about a rise in violent crime in Albuquerque and beyond.
The bill is the Legislature’s response to calls from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for a harsh response to frustrations about crime while she is running for re-election in November.
It would expand the surveillance of criminal suspects while they await trial, with 24-hour surveillance of ankle bracelet tracking devices. Lawmakers rejected proposals by the governor and prosecutors to ban the pre-trial release of people charged with certain violent and sex crimes.
The bill would expand the ranks of state district judges, increase deductible payments for city police and sheriff’s deputies, and award millions of dollars in death benefits to family members of police officers killed in the line of duty.
The legislation establishes requirements for crime reduction grants that pursue alternatives to traditional law enforcement and incarceration, and expands intervention programs to reduce gun violence.
The Crime Act also expands police training to help officers better manage stress, interactions with the homeless, and techniques for de-escalating confrontations with police.
And it overhauls oversight of police misconduct investigations under a new nine-person panel appointed by the governor and made up of law enforcement officials, a judge, a civil rights attorney and criminal defense attorneys from the public and private sectors.
Democratic Senator Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces said the law should have a quick and long-lasting impact on policing and crime rates.
“When we add 24-hour, seven-day-a-week ankle band surveillance statewide, there will be an immediate impact,” he said. “The long-term perspective is (that) violence prevention fellowships, law enforcement training, law enforcement retention, that’s going to take a lot of time.”
The bill includes new criminal penalties aimed at protecting state and local judges and their immediate families from threats and malicious disclosure of personal information, such as home addresses. This provision not only addresses concerns about the physical safety of judges, but also efforts to influence or disrupt court processes.
Criminal penalties are increased for possession of a firearm by a serious violent criminal, brandishing a gun in an illegal drug transaction, and under certain circumstances, aggravated escape from law enforcement.
On Wednesday, the Democrat-led Legislature approved a record-breaking $1 billion annual budget increase that will boost spending on public schools, Medicaid, public safety initiatives and a variety of grants, loans and tax breaks for private industry.
The proposed budget provides for an overall fund spending plan of $8.48 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1 — a 14% increase over current year’s spending. Lujan Grisham supports important provisions and can veto any part.
Separately, the state Senate has presented a half-billion-dollar package of tax refunds, cuts and credits and a package of crime-fighting initiatives in a crucial House debate. The Legislature has until 12 noon Thursday to approve the legislation before it is adjourned.
The budget builds on a fluke in state government revenue from rising oil production and federal pandemic relief.
Pay increases of at least 7% are planned for school district and state government employees statewide, with a $15 hourly minimum wage for public employees and higher base salaries for teachers.
Annual spending on K-12 public education would increase by $425 million to $3.87 billion, a 12% increase. Annual Medicaid spending would increase by about $240 million to $1.3 billion as the federal government cuts pandemic-related subsidies for the program, which provides free health care to the impoverished.