The 2026 legislative session is already a distant memory for most people—until a letter arrives from your state representative or senator describing all the wonderful things they accomplished.
Corner to Corner
Diane Denish is a former lieutenant governor of New Mexico. She is a native of Hobbs and now lives in Albuquerque.
My own representative highlighted passage of the Immigrant Safety Act and a driver data privacy bill she co-sponsored. She also cited efforts to “protect our communities” with six additional bills—all postponed indefinitely.
My senator pointed to housing legislation and passage of the medical malpractice bill, HB 99—even though, like others, she voted to gut the bill before final passage, which would have made the bill useless. (Thank goodness, that effort ultimately failed.)
And if you want to test your hypocrisy meter, read Senator Duhigg’s legislative letter defending the indefensible and then voting for a bill she publicly trashed.
And, of course, every legislative letter includes a familiar list of capital outlay projects secured for the district.
What’s missing are the things left undone.
This year, one of the most significant failures was the legislature’s inability to pass interstate licensure compacts for eight healthcare professions.
To their credit, lawmakers did pass the medical licensure compact for physicians after failed attempts in the 2025 regular and special sessions. Those efforts helped raise awareness and push the issue forward. The doctor compact was introduced as Senate Bill 1.
The Senate, which had resisted compacts in 2025, suddenly made the physician compact its top priority in 2026. During the interim, House and Senate members negotiated a compromise—fending off opposition from trial lawyers and last-minute efforts by Senator Katy Duhigg to alter the agreement.
So one compact passed.
But New Mexico faces critical shortages across nearly every other area of healthcare.
The House moved quickly to pass additional compacts covering EMTs, counselors, physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, audiologists, and dentists. These bills passed the House unanimously and had strong support from the governor.
Then they reached the Senate—and the Senate did what it too often does: it killed them.
All eight bills died in committee, with sole opposition from trial lawyers who wanted the compacts rewritten to allow lawsuits against the interstate commissions that oversee them. Those changes would effectively disqualify New Mexico from joining the agreements.
Senator Duhigg made specious legal arguments and engaged in fear mongering around the bills. She also argued that implementation would be “too much work” for the Regulation and Licensing Department—even though the legislature had already allocated $100,000 for that purpose. The RLD secretary testified that the department had the capacity to do the work and would only regulate six of the eight professions involved.
Majority Leader Peter Wirth said the compacts needed more work, despite the House aligning New Mexico with agreements already adopted by neighboring states. It’s fair to ask whether, as a trial lawyer, he was seeking a version more favorable to trial lawyers who were applying pressure.
Some legislators (Senators) would have us believe they have addressed the healthcare workforce shortage by passing the physician compact.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg.
New Mexico’s shortages are widespread and severe. Blocking the remaining compacts should concern anyone who has struggled to find timely care from physical therapists, counselors, occupational therapists and others.
This issue will return in 2027—and the public is now paying attention. Patients bear the consequences when there is a shortage of healthcare providers across the board.
So when you receive that next letter touting legislative accomplishments, say thank you.
Then ask: What was left undone?
And what more will you do to ensure New Mexicans have access to the healthcare professionals they need?
Because work left undone is still work that must be done.