By Damon Scott
New Mexico’s prohibition on rent control will stay in place for at least another year after a bill to repeal it didn’t make it to lawmakers for a vote.
The 60-day New Mexico legislative session came to an end Saturday, and along with it, the fate of hundreds of bills.
Advocates say the rent control measure was a crucial step to address sky high rents that plague much of the state and leave some residents on the edge of eviction and homelessness. Removing the prohibition would have allowed local municipalities to decide for themselves whether to craft legislation.
Supporters said this week that they’ll continue to pressure lawmakers to take up the issue next year. Nelia Bryant, one of the organizers of the Peoples Housing Project, was critical of the state’s Democrat majority failing to pass what she sees as progressive legislation that should be in their wheelhouse.
“Despite their trifecta in the state government, the ruling Democratic Party of New Mexico failed to pass Senate Bill 216 that would legalize rent control and expand democratic rights for all New Mexicans,” Bryant said. “Not passing this bill or even advancing it to the next committee was a deliberate choice.”
Democrats hold majorities in both the state House and Senate, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is a Democrat. The bill passed the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee, but then did not move the rest of the session.
Bryant said both political parties were more interested in serving “housing profiteers” over working class New Mexicans, which stunted the bill’s advancement.
“The fight is not over. In the richest country in the world there is more than enough wealth to guarantee housing for all,” she said. “We will continue campaigning to legalize rent control and for housing to be a basic guaranteed right.”
New Mexico is one of about 35 states that prohibits cities and counties from enacting rent control laws.
Eviction expungement
Another measure with implications for the state’s renters — House Bill 98 — also failed to reach the governor’s desk. It would have required the automatic expungement of eviction records after five years. In New Mexico, an eviction record currently lives on in perpetuity — something Democratic Rep. Janelle Anyanonu wanted to change.
“An eviction from many, many years ago can limit housing options for people who are otherwise capable of affording rental housing,” Anyanonu told City Desk ABQ last month. “An eviction should not be a life sentence that keeps someone from ever securing stable housing.”
While the bill gained some momentum by clearing two committee hearings, the legislation was never heard on the House floor for a vote. It wasn’t clear Thursday if Anyanonu or the bill’s cosponsor, Democratic Rep. D. Wonda Johnson, planned to reintroduce the measure next year.
Behavioral health Medicaid waiver
Meanwhile, another bill that sought to assist some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens — House Bill 70 — stalled out after two successful committee hearings. Legislators designed the bill to get the ball rolling on a state-sanctioned, but mostly federally-funded, behavioral health Medicaid waiver program for those at risk of institutionalization and jail.
Supporters sought to establish the behavioral health waiver in a similar fashion as the current developmental disability waiver, which has been in place for decades and has thousands of enrollees.
“It is the fastest and most effective intervention for changing the revolving door of incapacitated people clogging emergency rooms, hospital beds and sometimes jail cells — then casting them out onto the streets without essential treatment only to repeat the process,” Albuquerque attorney Peter Cubra told City Desk ABQ earlier this month.
But in the end, the New Mexico Health Care Authority didn’t support it, which was a big blow to its chances. Cubra, who was instrumental in crafting the legislation, said Thursday that supporters of the waiver would work with the Health Care Authority over the next year to demonstrate its feasibility.
“We very much appreciate that the legislature has appropriated $1 million so that the Health Care Authority can obtain consultation and conduct public meetings to figure out what will be necessary for us to create this,” he said.
Lawmakers are next scheduled to meet in January 2026, though Lujan Grisham has indicated she may call legislators into a special session to address public safety.