The Republican ‘affordability’ agenda and changes to the ICE detention ban bill took center stage Wednesday
White coats abounded at the Roundhouse Wednesday, with doctors and medical students roaming the halls in medical garb and lobbying for proposals, including House Bill 99, sponsored by Reps. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) and Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena). HB99, if passed, would remove a provision in state law that allows for punitive damages in medical malpractice lawsuits to come from personal liability of health care providers.
The Republican affordability agendaThe first bill that House Republicans mentioned during a news conference last week that opened the 30-day session seeks to give New Mexican first-time homebuyers zero-interest loans worth up to 20% of the purchase price.
The proposal is part of the Republicans’ “affordability” agenda, said Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-Truth or Consequences), in opening remarks to reporters last week. (The move is in step with the national Republican platform — President Donald Trump has been pressing a new “affordability” agenda, while still suggesting Democrats invented the word).
To that end, Dow sponsored House Bill 176, which drafters released late Tuesday. The seven-page bill directs funds that would otherwise go to the Early Education Childhood and Care Fund, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has tapped for her universal childcare initiative, ultimately toward a new “zero interest down payment loan fund” that the state Department of Finance Administration would oversee.
Dow told Source New Mexico last week that the bill is a way for the state to help families directly benefit from recent oil and gas revenue surpluses.
“We want families to be able to solve their own problems,” she said. “And I think homeownership is critically important to the American dream and creating self-sufficiency.”
Forty-seven bills lawmakers introduced so far this session mention “housing” amid a statewide shortage and growing homeless population. The Legislature is mulling more than $100 million for housing programs and homelessness prevention this session, as well.
‘Law Enforcement 101’Late into the afternoon Tuesday, the state House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee was scheduled to discuss three public safety bills.
However, House Democrats went into caucus — and stayed there for about two hours. When the committee convened, it immediately rescheduled discussion of a bill focused on juvenile firearm use while one of its sponsors, Rep. Nicole Chavez (R-Albuquerque), worked on amending it.
Then, after much discussion, it also rescheduled taking action on House Bill 49, which would increase penalties for people with felony convictions who are caught owning a gun. Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen and other supporters of the bill called it “Law Enforcement 101.”
“I want to think of it not just as reactive, but as proactive…It helps us not have another victim,” Allen told lawmakers. “If they know there’s a penalty, most likely they will not do it.”
Not everyone was convinced, though. Attorney Denali Wilson, who spoke during public comment on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, said this bill would represent the fourth time in five years that lawmakers have revised this criminal penalty.
“If harsher punishments were effective in reducing…firearm-related crime, we would’ve seen results by now,” she said.
Immigrant Safety Act amendment passes
Maria Romano, 63, drove up to Roundhouse from Hobbs to hear testimony on House Bill 9. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
The House Judiciary Committee voted 6-4 on Wednesday to accept an amendment to House Bill 9, the much-discussed “Immigrant Safety Act,” that would also ban county jail employees from referring inmates into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Sponsors introduced the amendment Tuesday to prohibit what are known as ICE “287(g) agreements.” The agreements deputize local law enforcement to serve ICE warrants on local arrestees and transfer them to ICE custody.
HB9 as initially drafted would have prohibited public entities like counties from contracting with ICE for immigration detention, something Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports. Whether the governor will support the amended bill remains to be seen. A spokesperson from her office did not respond to Source’s request for comment prior to publication.
The bill cleared its first committee in a vote along party lines after contentious debate last week.
Game Commission bill
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) introduced Senate Bill 104, which tweaks the removal process for members of the state wildlife governing board. Last year, lawmakers passed legislation reforming the state’s wildlife agency and governing board, but Lujan Grisham struck the proposed removal process in the Legislature’s final days.
SB104, if passed, allows the governor to initiate a removal proceeding, which is overseen by the New Mexico Supreme Court, a pared down version of the original process that required state ethics officials to open a proceeding in the state’s district courts. Conservation, wildlife and hunting organizations that championed the 2025 reforms say they support the new removal process.
“We appreciate the governor for following through on her commitment to work with our coalition and adopt these good government reforms,” Judy Calman, the New Mexico director of policy for Audubon Southwest, wrote in a statement. “It’s true that the removal process outlined in SB5 would have required lengthy judicial proceedings for removing commissioners.” Calman says the “compromise” negotiated by Lujan Grisham and Wirth “establishes a fair and timely removal process that we support, and we hope the legislation will pass quickly so we can meet our common goals of upholding the integrity of the commission.”
Looking aheadIn December, Source NM reported that the New Mexico Rural Library Initiative sought $29.5 million to keep the lights on at 60 libraries serving rural and tribal communities. Shel Neymark, executive director of the library initiative, at the time told lawmakers that these libraries do more than lend books to residents.
“They tend to provide early childhood education, after school programs, adult education,” he said. “They also do economic development, they connect people with healthcare, they step up during natural disasters and provide help for citizens.”
The Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee will review such a proposal Thursday morning.
The House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee will discuss Senate Bill 2, which would fund statewide highway improvement projects in part by increasing registration fees for passenger vehicles, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The bill drew some sharp debate on the Senate floor last week when Sen. Jay Block (R-Rio Rancho) argued that it would unfairly pass increased costs onto consumers.
The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Thursday will review House Bill 59, which would increase prison stays for certain felonies resulting in death from 18 to 25 years.
Reps. Chávez, Herndon to attend Minnesota day of solidaritySource NM has identified two New Mexico lawmakers scheduled to participate Thursday in a national day of solidarity with Minnesota, where federal immigration agents have killed two people in recent weeks. Event organizers said Albuquerque Democratic Reps. Eleanor Chávez, a co-sponsor of The Immigrant Safety Act, and Pamelya Herndon have signed on to virtually join the event.
