On Wednesday, July 30, Holly Agajanian, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Chief General Counsel, told members of the legislative Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee that the Governor is considering late August or early September for the Special Session. While facing questions about crime, Agajanian told the committee “The governor will most likely, definitely call a special session mainly to address the budget.” She said no final decision has been made as to the date nor the legislative agenda.
The Governor’s Office has not yet set a specific date for a special session this year, though the Governor has signaled on several occasions she was considering calling lawmakers back to Santa Fe this year. The governor has hinted in the past few months of calling a special session, but her last special session in the summer of 2024 was a bust after lawmakers refused to debate any of her crime bills. Her own party argued the bills were rushed.
The primary motivation for calling a special session is reacting to the severe cuts in federal funding to the state with the enactment of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” which is expected to reduce funding across many state programs. Agajanian said this as to what would be addressed in a Special Session:
“Things involving the Big Beautiful Bill, ways to reinforce our health care system, our SNAP system, other topics like that.’
Agajanian said the enacted federal budget bill is projected to lead to more than 90,000 New Mexico residents losing their health care coverage which would be the primary focus of the special session. The New Mexico Health Care Authority, which runs the state’s Medicaid program, indicated more than 250,000 state residents could face new co-pays and increased administrative hurdles to remain enrolled, while citing an estimated $478 million budget hit to the state. The special session could also include steps to reinforce a food assistance program that provides benefits to roughly 460,000 New Mexicans.
Agajanian said the Governor is considering adding other issues to the special session agenda for lawmakers’ consideration, including bills dealing with felons in possession of guns and the state’s definition of danger to one’s self and others. Legislation banning New Mexico local governments from entering into contracts with federal agencies to detain immigrants for civil violations could also be in the special session mix.
The governor’s office later confirmed the topics that would be discussed during the special session could be:
- Immigration ICE detention centers in the state
- Reinforcing programs like SNAP and Medicaid
- Tougher sentences for felons possessing guns
The governor’s office said there could be three crime bills discussed at the special session. They would address felons in possession of guns, the state’s definition of danger to oneself and others, and allow courts outside of the district court to do competency hearings. The Governor’s Spokesperson Michael Coleman said this:
“The governor is likely to call a special session, possibly in late summer or early fall, but a final determination has not been made. … If there is a special session, the governor will ask lawmakers to address federal budget cuts, increase penalties for felons in possession, update our outdated definitions of danger to self and others, make a small adjustment to the criminal competency bill that passed in the last session and ban local governments from contracting with federal agencies to detain immigrants for civil violations. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list for a special session call, but it reflects the governor’s current concerns.”
Agajanian told the legislative committee that legislation dealing with juvenile crime and reform of the juvenile justice system and firearm restrictions is expected to be delayed until the 30-day session that starts in January. Agajanian said this:
“Those are going to be bills we want to make sure we have plenty of time and consensus on. ”
It was on July 15, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, flanked by police chiefs from Farmington, Española, Las Cruces, the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference in Albuquerque to address what they all characterized as a “juvenile crime crisis”. Once again they asked the New Mexico legislature to enact major reforms to the state’s juvenile justice system as embodied in the Children’s Code.
BANNING OF ICE DETENTION FACILITIES
Legislation banning New Mexico local governments from entering into contracts with federal agencies to detain immigrants for civil violations could also be on the governor’s agenda for the special session. New Mexico currently has three private detention centers located in Torrance, Cibola and Otero counties that operate via intergovernmental service agreements between local counties and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Legislation targeting private immigration detention centers passed the state House on a 35-25 vote during this year’s 60-day session, but stalled in a Senate committee.
The governor’s chief general counsel said that the governor is open to bringing a bill forward that could potentially ban ICE detention centers from the state. Agajanian said this:
“[The] Governor is willing to have a bill on the call that would ban the presence of immigration facilities in the state of New Mexico. … That is not something that we have previously had come up to her desk before, and I know there’s been a lot of back and forth on it, and I do believe that she is at this point ready to put a bill like that on the call.”
Democrat State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, (D) Albuquerque, praised the governor’s office for considering the banning of ICE detention facilities and said this:
“I am really happy the governor is open to banning detention centers. … I’ve had the opportunity to talk to and had a chance to talk to the lawyers that go in there. I think the government should not be complicit with detaining people, like this way, especially New Mexico’s government. What happens is because the detention centers contract with the counties, they don’t have to go through the review process. So, the federal government has a built-in review process and contracting with the counties allows them to evade that process.”
Democrat State Senator Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, the chairman of the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, said he’s opposed a de facto ban on private immigration detention facilities in past years. Cervantes said he’s trying to organize a committee tour of the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral next month. Cervantes said this:
“If we shut down the New Mexico beds, they’re just going to send them somewhere else. ”
Republican Senator Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, criticized the governor’s plan to add immigrant detention facilities to the special session agenda. She said crime and child welfare should be higher priorities. Senator Brantly said this in a statement:
New Mexico is under a clear and present danger from within our own state lines. Look at our headlines from CYFD, to the Young Park massacre, to UNM this past weekend. [W]e have deeply rooted issues and yet here we are again talking about Trump. Our president has taken illegal immigration to the lowest numbers ever, but here we are finding a way to use taxpayer dollars to pick a fight with the administration for cheap political points. Meanwhile, we’re leaving serious bipartisan juvenile justice reform efforts out in the cold. … I’m deeply upset yet not surprised that this is shaping up to be another special session of hot air.”
JUVENILE CRIME
Juvenile crime is also being considered by Govenor Lujan Grisham for the special session. This comes as the issue is in the spotlight again after the recent shooting at the University of New Mexico, where an 18-year-old killed a 14-year-old on campus. Agajanian said the governor plans to address the issue in the 30-day session in January, where a full consensus can take place.
When asked by New Mexico Democrat Representative Cynthia Borrego how to stop the sale of black-market guns being sold to minors out of the backs of trunks and cars, Agajanian reiterated that there wasn’t a straightforward answer. Borrego said this:
“I think probably everybody can agree that stopping the sales from a trunk, those sales, those illegal sales out of trunk, that we want to put a stop to. If there was a way to actually solve that problem, I think we probably would’ve figured that out by now. Always willing to listen, right? That’s the big-ticket item right there. How do you stop that from happening to begin with?”
REACTION TO CONVENING SPECIAL SESSION
Republican State Senator Jim Townsend (R-Artesia) said he would be up for going back to the Roundhouse if bills are well-thought out and ready. Townsend said this:
“Quite frankly, if we don’t come in prepared, it will be no more productive than the last special session that we had, which was an absolute waste of everybody’s time and state taxpayer dollars.”
Democratic State Senator George Muñoz (D-Gallup), the leader of the powerful Legislative Finance Committee that’s in charge of the state’s finances, worries a special session may be premature. Muñoz said this:
“I don’t know what the plan is, but what we’re seeing is there’s time to react to this, and the slower we react, the better we’re going to be at it. ”
Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Sara Attleson said she welcomes the possibility of a special session and said this:
“We’re concerned about SNAP and Medicaid and the cuts that could likely happen in New Mexico.”
Republicans say if a session happens, they want results from what they say are the real problems facing New Mexico. Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela said this:
“Why are we standing aside from each other and playing political theater instead of addressing the problems?”
Barela boldly proclaimed the policies within the “Big, Beautiful Bill” can help address the state’s crime and housing problems without so much as offering any proof of the claim and sticking pathetically to national Republican talking points.
Other Republicans said a special session should focus on other ways to improve lives. Republican Rep. Elaine Sena Cortez said this:
“We are demanding real action, not political distraction. … If we have a special, then let’s focus on what matters. What matters is health care. What matters is education. What matters is the juvenile violent crime.”
GOVERNOR MLG SPECIAL SESSION HISTORY
When a proclamation is officially issued, the special session would be the seventh such session called by Lujan Grisham since she took office in 2019. Under the state Constitution, special sessions can last for up to 30 days in New Mexico and their agendas are set by the governor.
Last year, the governor called lawmakers back to Santa Fe for a crime-focused special session. But the Democratic-controlled Legislature largely rejected the governor’s agenda and adjourned after just five hours.
That prompted Lujan Grisham to say the Legislature should be “embarrassed,” though lawmakers subsequently approved some crime-related measures sought by the governor during this year’s session.
Links to relied upon or quotes news sources are here:
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_2f3be06b-bb07-4129-b7d4-2121847d4785.html
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/new-mexico-governor-growing-more-eager-to-call-special-session/
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Simply put, President Trump’s and the Republican passage of his “Big Beautiful Bill” should make any sane person vomit. More than 90,000 New Mexico residents are expected to lose their health care coverage and upwards of 460,000 New Mexicans are on federal food assistance programs which will be cut all thanks to the Republican enacted “Big Beautiful Bill”.
If the Governor wants to avoid the embarrassment of what happened in the summer of 2024 special session, the special session she now wants to call needs to be very short and sweet and needs to deal strictly with the budget crisis brought on by Trump’s and the Republican’s passage of his “Big Beautiful Bill”. Legislation dealing with the banning of immigration detention facilities, felons in possession of guns, the state’s definition of danger to oneself and others and allowing courts outside of the district court to do competency hearings are just too complicated for a special session. All will no doubt be hot points of contention better suited for the upcoming 2026 legislative session.
Before the Governor convenes a Special Session, she needs to make damn sure that there is absolutely no doubt that she has the votes to pass whatever she and the legislature can come to an agreement on, without zero Republican support if necessary, to deal with the financial crisis brought on by Trump’s and the Republicans “Big Ugly Bill.”