Posted inNM Political Report

Legislators deliver wins for Gov, land punches against Trump in action-packed 30-day session

Governor Michelle Lujan Grishamโ€™s final regular legislative session started a little rocky but delivered her many of her biggest priorities and legislators introduced dozens of bills responding to federal policy changes implemented under President Donald Trumpโ€™s return to office. In the 30-day session, legislators sent the governor bills effectively closing private prisons detaining federal immigration […]

Posted inColumns & Columnists, NM Political Report, Opinion & Analysis

Before pledging to “prosecute ICE,” Bregman was a “go-to” defense attorney for cops accused of crimes

Columnists in NM Political ReportPat Davis is the founder and publisher of NM Political Report, City Desk ABQ and the nm.news network. He is a recovering politician having served eight years as an Albuquerque City Councilor and, in another life, served as a police officer and nonprofit organizer. As footage of increasingly violent, and ultimately […]

Posted inNM Political Report

Records show Gary King, Deb Haaland used Epstein-linked jet during 2014 campaign

In the final days of their 2014 campaign for governor and lieutenant governor, Gary King and Deb Haaland announced that their campaign would return more than $36,500 in campaign donations received from companies associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to reporting from the Santa Fe New Mexican at the time. Records in the […]

Posted inNM Political Report

Promising to keep “naming names,” Stansbury shares list of “prominent names” from FBI Epstein files

New Mexico’s U.S. Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury says she will “name names” of prominent persons improperly redacted from the Epstein files by the U.S. Dept. of Justice after viewing unredacted portions of the files earlier this week. Stansbury joined other members of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus Wednesday on Capitol Hill to call for DOJ to […]

Posted inNM Political Report

Stansbury views unredacted Epstein files about New Mexico’s Zorro Ranch

“There arenโ€™t words to describe what are in those files,โ€ said Stansbury in a low, almost hushed, tone after emerging from a closed-door viewing of some of the unredacted Epstein files on Tuesday. โ€œIt’s very clear that the United States government has failed to hold perpetrators accountable for decades in this case with the original […]

Posted inNM Political Report

Competing book ban bills gather dust on the shelf as legislators look toward session end

A bevy of competing book ban bills to govern how libraries respond to requests for removing books have made little progress in the legislature, despite months of build up and organizing by the sponsors. As promised, State Sen. Anthony โ€œAntโ€ Thornton (R- East Mountains) introduced Senate Bill 49, a pilot project for a content-based library […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Healthcare, New Mexico Legislature #nmleg, NM Political Report

Governor Lujan Grisham signs Medical Licensure Compact for docs into law

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill today that enables doctors from other states to obtain New Mexico licenses more quickly. The bill, Senate Bill 1, enters New Mexico into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. In this compact, a physician licensed in a state like Texas or Colorado can fast-track their relocation to practice in […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Legislature #nmleg, NM Political Report

Bill to close ICE facilities in New Mexico signed into law by Gov

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill today designed to end New Mexicoโ€™s involvement in federal civil immigration detention. House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, prohibits public bodies from entering into, renewing or extending agreements to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations. The bill also bars public bodies from selling or leasing public […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Legislature #nmleg, NM Political Report

Gov set to sign bill closing ICE facilities in New Mexico

New Mexico is set to end its involvement in federal civil immigration detention following final Senate passage of the Immigrant Safety Act on Feb. 2.  The legislation, House Bill 9, creates a โ€œbright lineโ€ between state and local resources and federal immigration enforcement, potentially forcing the closure of three detention facilities that collectively hold more […]

Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg

Governor expected to sign bill that would โ€˜cut red tapeโ€™ and address New Mexico physician shortage

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is set to sign legislation that would allow out-of-state doctors to help fill New Mexicoโ€™s physician shortage by joining an Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Following a unanimous House vote Tuesday approving the Senate bill, the governorโ€™s office says Lujan Grisham intends to sign the bill into law Thursday morning. The compact […]