Lawmakers voice concerns on nearing special legislation session during town hall

Jun. 25—The special legislative session is less than a month away, but lawmakers are still voicing the same sentiment: Nobody's on the same page.

While policymakers generally agree that New Mexico has a crime problem , exactly how to address it is still up in the air.

Sen. Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque; and Reps. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque; Alan Martinez, R-Rio Rancho; and Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, came together on Tuesday for a town hall on crime, the second such forum hosted by the Journal, KOAT-TV and radio station KKOB.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said they're looking forward to what could get done in the special session, which starts July 18, but aren't in complete agreement with proposals the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office has put forth.

Reeb said the governor's informal agenda so far is too complicated to address in a few days, especially regarding criminal competency and mental health issues.

"To just jump in in two days and say, 'We're going to fix this,' — like we had a special session for cannabis — is unrealistic," she said.

If lawmakers are rushed, she said, they'll make mistakes that hurt people.

"It does not seem like either party believes that these issues that the governor has put forward or the agenda are anything that's going to really be an emergency or fix our crime problem," Reeb said.

Garratt said there's debate on whether the state should even hold a special session, but the governor is responding to communities asking for action to address crime.

"Let's not think, 'Oh, we can't get anything done.' Let's get something done in this special session," she said.

Reeb said a special session is meant to address emergency situations with no other way to deal with them. She said the upcoming special session doesn't fit such a situation. Martinez said he's not a fan of special sessions, which he thinks should be limited to budgetary matters.

"If we're going to go to Santa Fe and spend your money, then let's do something. Let's tackle real issues," Martinez said.

Maestas said lawmakers should agree on five or six bills to pass in the special session, helping the state catch up on laws he said are behind. Martinez agreed.

"Let's get down, and come up with three or four issues. ... Let's deal with this not as Republicans and Democrats; let's come together and deal with this as New Mexicans and accomplish something that's actually going to benefit people on a daily basis," Martinez said.

Pretrial detention and services

Maestas said New Mexico needs to strengthen its pretrial services, and bail reform is the new reality. He described pretrial release as probation for people who are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

"It's the best way to fight crime," he said.

Garratt said she supports looking at the pretrial detention system, which most lawmakers agree needs work.

"But again, this is the beginning of a much deeper dive," she said.

Maestas also said speeding up prosecution would help fight crime, but Reeb said that's easier said than done, and the state lacks prosecutors and district attorneys.

"We need to be focusing on things that our citizens of New Mexico want us to focus on when it comes to crime, and that is their safety ... making sure dangerous criminals don't get out of jail," Reeb said.

Maestas said there have been a lot of major changes and shocks to the criminal justice system in the past decade, like bail reform, which largely ended the cash-bail system in the state.

"We've got to get back to holding people accountable," he said.

In response to a question criticizing the effectiveness of policy changes to bail reform, Martinez said those changes weren't well thought out.

He said criminals have become comfortable and aren't afraid of getting caught. The state needs to adopt policies that help prosecutors and law enforcement, he said, and subsequently hold criminals accountable for their actions.

"I think really getting behind law enforcement and giving them the tools they need is the foundation," Martinez said.

Maestas said police officers and defense attorneys aren't the best policymakers. He also pointed out that he and Reeb are the only senators in the Legislature with prosecuting experience.

The lawmakers denied opinions from a previous town hall put on by the media outlets, which included criminal justice and law enforcement officials, that legislators aren't communicating with the people on the ground.

"I'm always 'open ears' for anything they have to say when it comes to crime. ... I feel like I'm the one reaching out, generally, to them," Reeb said.

Garratt said the issue goes two ways; both lawmakers and law enforcement have to do a better job of communicating.

Addressing homelessness

When asked how to address homelessness, Martinez said the state needs to deal with core issues. He said many people experiencing homelessness are suffering from mental health issues.

He suggested regional state health facilities as a solution, imitating programs that are working such as the health care system New Mexico has for veterans.

"We need to start looking long term," he said, "and invest some real money into long-term treatment facilities that these people can go in, see a therapist, get somebody that kind of modulates what's going on with them chemically, get them into a treatment plan, get them into housing."

Maestas said the solution to homelessness is low-income housing. He brought up how people protest housing permits at local meetings.

"We cannot put our own selfish desires of what we want our city to look like above the increase of housing stock in this city," he said. "We must support any and all new housing permits in the city, regardless of whether it messes with our vision of what our perfect city should be."

Reeb said she wants to see issues like fentanyl and border safety addressed in the special session.

Martinez said Republicans have been trying to pass bills on crime, but the legislation doesn't make it through. All of a sudden, he said, there's an urgency to do something, and it'll cost from $50,000 to $75,000 per day to run the special session.

"Now, the attention is on us," he said. "Are we going to accomplish something? Or are we going to walk away with the only thing we did was (spend) $75,000 a day?"