Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by: Viewers like You >> Nash: This week on New Mexico in Focus, the legislative session looms.

We check in with state House Speaker Javier Martinez on what lawmakers are prepared to get done.

>> Martinez: Whether it's health care, whether it's oil and gas regulation, whether it's tax policy, whether it's CYFD reforms.

Everything is on the table for us to look and improve.

>> Nash: Also, the brew house blues have hit our state.

Is the shuttering of Bosque Brewing a one off or a signal of trouble ahead?

New Mexico in Focus starts now.

Thanks for joining us this week.

I'm Nash Jones.

As we settle into the new year, lawmakers are readying to meet in Santa Fe for their annual legislative session on the 20th.

It's an even numbered year, so that means a shorter 30 day session focused on the budget.

Legislators can take up other topics, too, but only if Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham calls for them.

So later this hour, we are going to sit down with the top Democrat in the House, speaker, Javier Martinez, to learn what his caucus expects to get done and whether they're in agreement with Lujan Grisham.

Also, while people have remembered and reflected on the January 6th insurrection each year since a violent mob of Trump supporters attacked the nation's capital in 2021, this year's anniversary was the first with President Trump back in the White House.

In Focus' Cailley Chella went to a protest in downtown Albuquerque to hear how people were thinking about January 6th this week, as New Mexico weathers federal changes under Trump's first year back in office.

Then, over the holidays, you may have gathered with friends at a New Mexico Brewery or cozied up with a local craft beer.

Or, notably, you may not have.

Tonight, senior producer Lou Divizio takes a look at a nationwide slowdown in an industry that has boomed in New Mexico for years, including the recent closure of one of the big dogs locally, Bosque Brewing.

But first, with the start of the new year, comes new laws that were passed during the last year's legislative session.

Of the nine additions to the state statute, book six are centered around health care.

House Bill 78 protects hospitals that participate in a federal discounted drug price program.

For more than 30 years, hospitals enrolled in the 340 B program have been able to use the money saved to cover some of the costs of caring for uninsured patients.

This law prevents pharmaceutical companies from restricting or denying hospitals access to certain medications.

House Bill 171 allows certain custodial care facilities, like nursing homes, to access addiction withdraw medication.

House Bill 174 requires certain insurance companies to reimburse community pharmacies at or above the national average for the wholesale costs of drugs.

The law also requires those companies to pay community pharmacies a dispensing fee.

House Bill 233 requires that insurance coverage for diabetic foot ulcers includes topical oxygen therapy.

A law that prohibits out-of-pocket costs for in-network behavioral health care, was set to end next year.

It now won't, thanks to Senate Bill 120.

And Senate Bill 249 requires managed care organizations to reimburse providers for any gross receipts taxes they pay on Medicaid services.

The three other new laws include an update to the state's tax code, new standards for certified public accountants, and an order for the Search and Rescue Office to create criteria for notifying the state when an emergency is happening.

In addition to new state laws, 2026 also brings new regulations for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Federal Food Assistance Program that more than 1 in 5 New Mexicans relies on.

Under President Trump's big bill, snap recipients must now work, volunteer or attend training for 80 hours a month to continue receiving food stamps.

These new work requirements apply to able bodied adults up to age 64.

Native Americans are exempt from the requirements, though the bill removed previous exemptions for veterans, former foster youth and people experiencing homelessness.

December 31st also saw the expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, a subsidy that was expanded in 2021 to help lower the cost of marketplace premiums for those who earn more than 400% of the federal poverty level.

Unlike elsewhere in the country, the full force of those expired tax credits won't be felt in New Mexico.

State lawmakers last year set aside $40 million to cover those expired subsidies through the first half of the year.

That said, rates are still expected to rise for ACA customers.

The office of the Superintendent of Insurance estimates an average increase of about 36%, though that price hike doesn't seem to have scared away many New Mexicans looking for new health insurance, according to numbers announced earlier this week by Be-well, N.M., the state's health insurance exchange.

9000 new customers have enrolled since November, bringing the program's coverage to 81,000.

The deadline to get an Obamacare plan is coming up on January 15th.

Just this week, I asked House Speaker Javier Martinez about the state's decision to cover those costs and exactly how it works.

>>Martinez: New Mexicans are going to be okay for the time being.

The state stepped up and plugged in the holes of the federal subsidies that expired, so families in New Mexico should not really see the increases that other communities in other places saw because of of of congressional inaction.

We will cover those subsidies for this calendar year.

So folks who started their coverage on January 1st and until the end of the year, and we are prepared to make another investment in that next year.

>>Nash: I believe the the investment that you made, it covers through the end of the fiscal year, June 30th.

>>Martinez: Correct.

And so it's there's money in the budget to cover the rest of the year.

And then the upcoming year as well.

>>Nash: Okay.

>>Martinez: Now, you know, this is another example of House Democrats, in particular, planning for the moment.

In 2021 We created something called the Health Care Affordability Fund, and we passed the Health Care Affordability Act, which kept a surtax on private insurance premiums in place, a surtax that the prior Trump administration had eliminated through their big nasty tax bill.

From that time, we kept it in place at the state level, and that funds that health care affordability fund.

So today, it ensures that no New Mexican family has to pay an arm and a leg for their health care.

Something that I'm particularly very proud of because that was another, community led initiative, that came out of really community health clinics in the South Valley saying, hey, we need more access to care for our people.

And that was the vehicle.

And that vehicle is now supporting the entire state of New Mexico.

>>Nash: Congress is considering a few proposals to address health care premium costs.

We'll keep you updated on those, and you'll hear more from Speaker Martinez in just a few minutes, when he'll break down the priorities of his caucus.

As the state legislature prepares for its regular session starting on the 20th.

Leaders in the state's largest city were sworn in to start the year, marking the first time a mayor has ever served three consecutive terms in Albuquerque.

Our cameras were inside the Albuquerque Convention Center for the ceremony, as Mayor Tim Keller chatted with supporters and city residents.

Keller won his third term in a December runoff election, defeating challenger Darren White with 58% of the vote.

Keller gave a formal address to the crowd, saying he's going to finish what he started, but not before he reassesses the efficiency and effectiveness of his entire administration.

>> Keller: It's the city's job to help to lighten the load, not to hinder or to stall, or to add to an already increasing burden on our shoulders.

That is why we are going through a powerful refresh at City Hall.

We're going to have to make clear choices to prioritize crime fighting, helping the unhoused, and placemaking.

That means going department by department and understanding how we can free up resources for these priorities.

It also means hiring new leadership, and it means retaining experienced leadership we need during this critical effort.

It also means a refresh on how we can partner with City council.

I am committed to working together on our biggest issues, to sharing information, to open access to departments and staff so we can push through questions and answers and debates about power and jurisdiction.

And we can actually focus on policies that will directly make us safer, that will help people off the streets.

And it will build spaces where we can connect with each other.

>> Nash: Keller was also joined on stage by Albuquerque city councilors.

District Three's Klarissa Pena on the far left of your screen there, won a runoff election last month and will serve as the council's president.

District One's Stephanie Telles standing next to Pena also prevailed in a December head to head race.

District five Councilor Dan Lewis, district Seven's Tammy Fiebelkorn and District Nine's Renee Grout won reelection in November.

As is the case every January, the state legislature is about to be bustling with lawmakers, lobbyists, journalists and residents.

The 30 day session begins Tuesday, January 20th, and while it will be focused on passing a state budget, other items are sure to make.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grishams is call, especially considering this will be the last regular session for the termed out Democratic governor, though what actually gets done is out of her hands.

And lawmakers from her own party haven't always agreed with the governor's ideas.

We invited Democratic Speaker of the House Javier Martinez in to talk through his caucus, his priorities for the budget and beyond.

Speaker Martinez, thanks so much for coming on the show.

>> Martinez: Thank you Nash >> Nash: So this year is a shorter, it's a budget focused session.

Projections last month showed that the state is expected to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars less in new money.

How does that impact the budgeting work that you and your colleagues are going to be doing?

>> Martinez: You know, I think for Mr.

and Mrs.

New Mexico, they're not going to see a huge difference because our legislature has been very responsible in the way that we've budgeted and invested over the last few years.

And so we are more than prepared for this moment.

Now, as you stated, we are- our revenue still up as compared to last year.

It's just not as much as was expected back in August.

A big part of the reason why is a dysfunction coming out of Washington, D.C.

every time the president talks about imposing tariffs, where every time he creates an international crisis or a distraction, all of that impacts the economy.

And all of that trickles down to us here.

But again, Mr.

and Mrs.

New Mexico will not see much of a difference because of a years of smart budgeting on the part of the legislature.

>> Nash: And you mentioned that you've been doing a lot of this work.

You and your colleagues of squirreling money away into savings accounts, trust funds is this moment one to, you know, as, as the revenue projections are shrinking to squirrel more away?

How do you balance the spending in the saving?

>> Martinez: The saving.

We've done a tremendous job with when you look at our permanent funds, for example, they are estimated to hit $100 billion over the next few years.

That is a cause for celebration, right?

Because a big part of the permanent fund is going to fund public education, for example, and universal accessible early childhood education.

Now we have to keep in mind that we can't just save for the mythical future, right?

That was one of the arguments I made back in the day, when folks were saying, don't touch the Permanent Fund for early childhood because it's for a rainy day.

In the future, we've got to make investments today in our people as well.

And that's what we've been doing, right?

We're investing in early childhood and care.

We're investing in free college for New Mexico students.

We are investing in housing.

We are investing in infrastructure.

We can do both.

And the priority this session will be to continue to do both.

>> Nash: So a balanced spending and saving approach?

>> Martinez: Of course.

Of course putting people first.

That's key for me.

>> Nash: You mentioned what's happening on the federal level.

President Trump's first term was marked largely by these massive federal cuts, that were showing up here in New Mexico.

You, had a special session in October.

A lot of that was about backstopping these federal cuts.

What does it look like to do more of that this month?

>> Martinez: you know, as long as I'm speaker, no New Mexico senior will go without food.

No New Mexican family will go without health care.

And so we are going to keep investing in those systems to make sure that what's needed for our communities is delivered for them.

But as I've said time and time again, no state, including New Mexico, can carry the weight of these cuts forever.

And so we need Congress to grow a backbone and do the right thing by the people.

And we need this president to live up to his promise to the American people, promise that he made a year ago that he was going to make life more affordable.

In fact, he has made it a lot less affordable.

>> Nash: Is that going to happen?

How does that happen?

>> Martinez: You know, my family migrated here from Mexico because we didn't have much of a democracy back home.

And a big part of the reason they migrated here is because of the promise of this country.

I still believe in the promise of the United States of America to to do right by its people.

And I believe that the people of this country will deliver a Congress that is going to listen to the American people.

>> Nash: So you're looking ahead to the midterms?

>> Martinez: The midterms are critically important.

And Trump said so yesterday.

He said they better win the midterms or the Democrats are going to do what they need to do to break, to do right by the people.

There's nothing more absurd than to gut child care funding, as he's done in Minnesota.

There's nothing more absurd than to gut Medicaid, as they are doing with the big nasty bill.

It is going to be up to a Democratic Congress and a Democratic speaker of the US House to bring back some civility and to bring back some, bring back some common sense.

>> Nash: And in the meantime, we can expect the state legislature to continue to allocate some state funds to those initiatives.

>> Martinez: 100%.

No senior will go hungry.

No child will go without health care.

>> Nash: And after the October special session, in addition to saying that there was more to do in terms of filling these federal gaps, you said that there were a couple priority issues for you this session.

One of those being child well-being and another being public safety.

Let's take those one at a time.

Child well-being.

What does that look like?

What kind of proposals can we expect?

>> Martinez: You can expect more proposals to fix the children, and Families Department.

CYFD has been an astronomical failure dating back several governors.

This is not on this, governor.

This goes back several governors.

And it is one of the most urgent needs that we have in this state.

That's why under my speakership, we have pushed forth some of the most comprehensive CYFD reforms we've ever seen.

>> Nash: What's left to do?

>> Martinez: I think we need to restructure the way CFD is set up.

There's going to be a constitutional amendment this year to remove it from under the purview of the governor, whoever that governor might be in the future, and have an independent commission of experts to run the agency.

We don't need politicians.

We don't need it to be at the whim of the political winds of the day.

We need professionals who can do right by our kids.

>> Nash: Do you think that there's enough support for that?

In terms of the negotiations you've been having before this session?

>> Martinez: You know, there's support for CYFD reforms within the House.

And I can tell you that support across party lines.

And I expect the same to continue this year.

>> Nash: Right, I know that the Republicans brought some CYFD reforms to the special in October.

That didn't didn't see the light of day.

Will this constitutional amendment be a Democratic proposal?

>> Martinez: It was last year, and I expect that it will be this year.

But I don't foresee any issues bringing in Republicans as well.

>> Nash: All right.

Now, public safety, it's been a priority issue for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

She and your caucus have not always seen eye to eye on how to approach that.

I think back to the public safety special session in 2024, where you adjourned within a matter of hours without passing any of her proposals.

Are there any public safety proposals where you feel that you and your colleagues are on the same page with the governor?

>> Martinez: Public safety has been a focus of our caucus for several legislative sessions.

And I'll take us back to 2021, when we appropriated historic levels of funding for technology for law enforcement, for example, money to recruit and retain law enforcement officers across the state, money to support violence intervention programs in our local communities.

The thing about public safety is we've got to be smart about public safety.

And no politicians.

Who tells you that?

There's one thing that if you do, you'll fix it?

Is telling you the truth.

We've seen this book before >> Nash: Are you saying that's what the governor is saying?

>> Martinez: I'm saying that's what politicians oftentimes will say.

And we've seen it over the course of several years now.

There's not one silver bullet.

You need a comprehensive approach.

That's the approach we've taken.

And guess what?

By all accounts, here in my hometown, in our hometown, it's working.

We've had a lot less number of murders this last year than we do the year before by a lot.

Violent crime is down.

I think it's working right.

But what we can do is go back to the policies of the 90s, right?

We know that didn't work.

That's why you had Republican led states.

States like Texas push hard for criminal justice reform over the last ten years or so because of the policies of the 90s did not work.

>> Nash: And what are those policies?

Are you talking about increased penalties?

Because I know that's something that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she wants, to to see in this session.

>> Martinez: Well, I mean, when it comes to increased penalties, we've increased penalties during the last few legislative sessions ourselves.

>> Nash: So what are the policies in the 90s that are outmoded?

>> Martinez: Well, I mean, if you're looking at, locking people up and throwing away the key, that doesn't work.

Three strikes you're out.

That doesn't work.

The death penalty that doesn't work.

Those are all proposals that cross my desk every single legislative session, right?

I don't know who's behind them.

I don't know who the brainpower behind them are, but these are reactionary proposals that don't deal with the issue of public safety.

What's going to deal with the issue of public safety is behavioral health interventions, supports for those who are addicted to drugs.

That's why the legislature in the 2025 legislative session made a $250 million investment distributed through all 13 judicial districts to ensure that people who are accused of crimes and who have a competence issue.

Right.

If a competency issue is raised, say, because of drug addiction or a behavioral health problem, that in fact they are not just let out into a life of crime, but that they are navigated and handed off to supports that they need >> Nash: Not pilot program has just started.

>> Martinez: It just announced yesterday here in the Second Judicial District >> Nash: The governor told me back in October that one piece of this competency puzzle that she wants to see you all address this month is that danger to self and others, boosting, amending that definition.

Is that something that there's any appetite for?

>> Martinez: I think the governor will likely have it on her call.

And it is a bill that will run through our process.

Right.

Is there appetite for it?

There's always appetite for improving the systems as we know them.

Absolutely now.

>> Nash: But that proposal has failed to get any traction in the past.

>> Martinez: Well, that proposal has moved through the Senate.

That proposal has been heard in at least one House committee, I believe last legislative session.

And again, the devil's in the details, right?

Are we talking about putting people away against their will?

Well, that violates our constitutional right.

And that opens up, opens us up to lawsuits from all kinds of folks.

Right.

Folks who work on civil liberties.

But if this is really about taking care of people, making sure they get better, and ensuring that our community to remain safe, then I think all of us are all ears, and we will happily look at any proposal that comes across her desk.

>> Nash: Juvenile crime is also high on the governor's list.

She talked with me about stronger detention requirements, parental accountability in that vein, do you share the governor's concern about juvenile crime being on the rise?

And if so, do you share her view of what some of these solutions might look like?

>> Martinez: I share the concern and I share the, and I agree on some of the solutions.

And some of those solutions absolutely need to hold families and parents accountable.

And guess what?

A lot of those kids at the D home today have had an interaction with CFD So we go back to a failing family unit, right?

To speak of the state steps in to take the place of that family unit in the state has failed.

It is up to us to do better by those children.

Now, if you're going to lock up a bunch of kids and throw away the key where are you going?

To lock them up.

See, the D home is full.

According to the folks who run the D home, it's been full.

There's not one available bed.

So to lock a bunch of kids up, where are you going to put them now?

I heard a Senate proposal that is percolating about building more detention centers.

I mean, if you build them, they will come.

And that is a very slippery slope because at the end of the day, these are still our kids.

And the fact that the family failed that kid and the fact that the state has failed that kid shouldn't fall on that kid's shoulders.

We must do better.

We passed House Bill 255, out of the House last legislative session and died in the Senate.

But that bill was appropriating a ton of money into preventative measures to keep kids out of the criminal justice system.

Because we know it works.

We know that works.

So I'm all ears.

I am concerned about juvenile crime as well.

I give you the example earlier, the little league where my kids play across the street is a long term detention facility for youth.

It is a travesty that we invest more to keep a kid locked up than we do in ensuring that kids have a healthy, nurturing place to play sometimes.

And so as long as I'm speaker of the House, we're going to ensure that every single kid is safe.

Both the kids who are accused of crime and also those kids who are victims of crime.

>> Nash: Okay, let's move on to health care.

The House passed bills to join physician compacts in the past that failed in the Senate.

Those are an effort to, tackle our doctor shortage, boost recruitment.

In the special session, you all pass some funding to do some studying, do some preparing to get that done quickly.

You had said that that was going to be first on your caucus list to get done this month.

Is are you ready to get that done?

>> Martinez: We are ready to get the way we've done it the last three legislative sessions.

There's absolutely no reason why New Mexico shouldn't be in partnership with these interstate compacts.

I think more than 40 states are already members of these compacts, >> Nash: and we're part of a nurses compact, but not the physicians compact.

>> Martinez: We've got to do physicians.

We have to be social workers.

We've got to do all of the ones that we've passed in.

But I think we passed 7 or 8 of them in the past for different health care professions.

>> Nash: Have you been in touch with your colleagues in the Senate about whether they're they're on board this time.

>> Martinez: Yeah we set up a working group, of, I think 2 or 3 senators, three House members that worked over the course of the last few weeks.

And, there is agreement on the Physicians Compact.

And that's something that will absolutely move, but we're not going to give up on the other compacts.

Again, there's no reason there's no excuse >> Nash: Whats the reason their giving?

>> Martinez: You know, you'd have to ask them, but, you know, to me, there's really no reason to why not do this?

Especially when these bills have passed the House.

I believe unanimously we have not had one no vote on any of these.

So the writing's on the wall.

It's going to happen.

And the House is going to push these, compacts very, very early on in the upcoming session.

>> Nash: Okay.

Another a long criticized factor to New Mexico's doctor shortage is the medical malpractice insurance costs here.

This is a reform that, again, the governor, wanted to see in the special session.

It didn't come, any chance of a proposal of that kind getting traction?

>> Martinez: Well look, to be clear, whatever didn't happen in the special session is because it was not put on the call.

Right?

So we never even had an opportunity to debate medical malpractice during the special session.

Secondly, as with public safety, there is not one silver bullet for the doctor shortage in New Mexico.

Last I checked, prior to the 2021 medical malpractice bill, we already had a doctor shortage, right?

You'd have to go back to the 80s when the federal government >> Nash: You don't think it's a factor.

>> Martinez: I think it's I'm sure it's a factor, along with a bunch of other things.

Right.

And so for me, anything that helps access health care for families is on the table, no doubt about it.

But like with public safety, I'm telling you, viewers, don't allow any politician to tell you that if you fix this one thing, everything is going to get better.

Because the issue of physician shortage here in New Mexico and across the country is multifaceted.

There are a bunch of reasons for it.

>> Nash: Sure, I mean, if we have compacts on board, if we get med mel insurance reformed, wouldn't those, all have an impact on the doctor shortage?

>> Martinez: But you'd have to a a few more things to that.

You'd have to add, student loan repayment supports for physicians.

You'd have to also talk about the number of international doctors that are living in New Mexico, driving for DoorDash, because you're either from Venezuela or Cuba, and they're here on asylum status but can't practice because of our archaic professional guidelines to practice.

>> Nash: So why not do it all?

>> Martinez: We're going to do it.

I, my push for our caucus is that we take a look at everything and that we ensure that no New Mexican has to ever wait six, eight, nine, ten months for an appointment.

And here's the other thing.

If you want to get back to the root of this issue, it's the fact that 60, 70 years ago, this country decided that health care is a commodity to be traded on Wall Street.

That is the crux of the problem.

And until we get to the root of the problem, whether it's health care, insurance, affordability, whether it's physician shortages, we're going to keep dealing with these issues because medicine should not be for profit and health care.

You know, the a kid with cancer should not be a commodity traded on Wall Street the way it is right now.

>> Nash: Well, when it comes to medical malpractice insurance, specifically in this issue, which has been coming up time and again, the trial lawyers are a huge, opposition to this bill.

They funded the large opposition to this bill.

They're also significant campaign contributors to Democrats, including yourself.

Is that a factor in getting this across the line?

>> Martinez: No, no, it's not, because at the end of the day, what we do is we do right by people.

I don't care who is a supporter of who or who contributes to what.

I mean, at the end of the day, every special interest group, whether it's an environmental group, whether it's a travelers, whether it's the oil and gas industry, whether it's labor unions, they all have the -- you know, the space that they work in, right?

And that the advocate for -- I can tell you, the trial lawyers have long been champions of the little guy against corporations, against out-of-state private equity corporations my entire life and public service, that's who those guys have been fighting, right, on behalf of the little guy.

And so, you know, I'm not here to pass judgment on any single one special interest group.

I can tell you that the issue of medical malpractice insurance is very complicated.

You do have some gross cases of medical malpractice where families are harmed beyond recognition, and for the rest of their lives, they've got to carry the weight of those consequences.

At the same time, the legislative process is such that -- as I joke on the floor all the time, anything is open for debate, amendment or substitution, right?

That's the legislative process.

And so as we've done every single year on a variety of issues, whether it's health care, whether it's oil and gas regulation, whether it's tax policy, whether it's CYFD reforms, everything is on the table for us to look and improve because the people of New Mexico elected us to deliver a good system for them and to not do the bidding of one special interest group versus the other -- >> Nash: Okay, the state has an incredibly ambitious goal of reducing emissions by at least 45% by 2030. it may sound absurd, but that is coming up very quickly.

That is just four years from now.

So, a recent analysis shows business as usual is not going to get that done.

What can we expect, in terms of emissions reductions, climate change proposals, this session?

>> Martinez: We've got one of the strongest, if not the strongest methane rules in the entire country., right?

And that's something that -- a lot of credit to the governor for pushing that in her first couple of years in office.

You know, that's probably something that will be proposed to put in -- to codify, to put in statute.

New Mexico is also the second largest producer of oil and gas in the entire country.

Right?

And it's something that I don't shy away from when we talk about universal access to child care, when I talk about free college, when we talk about plugging -- budget holes for Medicaid or SNAP, the money comes from somewhere, right?

And largely it comes from that industry.

Having said that, as is the case in my life in public service, we always have to keep corporations and big business accountable, because at the end of the day, they're not going to keep themselves accountable.

And so anything that the state can do to improve that behavior, I'm open to and I know my caucus is open to -- >> Nash: Anything specific that we can expect?

>> Martinez: I haven't heard from the governor's office in terms of what to expect on the call.

But, you know, whatever is place on the call, I'm sure we'll take up -- >> Nash: Anything else big that you feel like is going to be ready for prime time come January 20th?

>> Martinez: You know, I think there's been a lot of discussion around universal child care.

And again, that's my life's work, right?

When we started the work around the constitutional amendment for early childhood back in 2011, the dream was always to have the conversation about universal.

Then the fact that we are even having the conversation is a huge feather in the cap of all of those advocates that came together all those years ago.

Now, something that I'm laser focused on this session, and I know my caucus as well, is ensuring that we deliver universal access in the best possible of ways.

And that's in two different ways.

Number one, taking care of those kids who need child care the most.

Those are the ages of 0 to 3.

That is the hardest age group to find childcare for, for a variety of reasons.

The other piece is ensuring that the workers, the educators, are paid what they're worth because for far too long they have been mistreated and really just disregarded as part of just this workforce.

So my caucus and I are prepared to do right by those workers and to do right by those kids, 0 to 3, especially those from lower income families, to make sure that we are delivering on that promise to them.

But again, if 12 years ago we would have talked about universal child care, they would have laughed at us because it wasn't even in the realm of possibility.

The fact that we are even discussing it now as part of these budget negotiations is a huge win for the people in New Mexico.

>> Nash: Well, we'll be watching as you gavel in.

Thanks, Speaker Martinez, thank you.

>> Jackson: I think people have always expected a dramatic popping of the bubble, like we're going to have massive wave of closures.

We have it.

We've never it's never happened.

There's been like I look back into the past year.

There was maybe I think four breweries that closed statewide.

So for all the doom and gloom, a lot of them are hanging in there.

And there's they are trying to innovate and they are trying to come up with new ideas.

So it should just be interesting to see, it's just I don't think it's going to be anything nearly as dramatic as Boesky.

It's just going to kind of be either a slow decline or a slow build back up.

>> Nash: Thanks to Speaker Martinez for giving us a look at what's coming up at the roundhouse, And you'll be hearing plenty from him and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we take you back to Santa Fe for the session later this month.

And join us next week as we hash out more of what to expect with a panel of local reporters who have a firm grasp on the roundhouse and what's led up to this moment, we'll zero in on the competing budget proposals from lawmakers and the governor, particularly their disagreement over how much money to put towards universal child care.

Tuesday marked a grim milestone, five years since a mob of Trump supporters swarmed the US Capitol, with many of them forcing their way inside to try and stop Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.

Seven people died and more than 140 were injured.

Trump has been trying to whitewash what happened that day ever since.

And you'll hear more about that in a minute.

But for many, the insurrection wounds haven't healed.

Tonight, reporter Cailey Chella looks at what the anniversary of January 6th means for the country and for New Mexicans.

[percussion music] >>Cailley: It's January 6th, and hundreds of people are gathered at the corner of fourth and Lomas in Albuquerque, with a message, They say Washington still hasn't fully heard.

>> Stauffer: I think Trump, our president, needs to be impeached because he's breaking the law.

And, some of the Congress members are allowing him to do that.

And that needs to stop now.

>> Cailley: It's part protest, part rally, part dance party with a few attendees donning inflatable gear.

>> Kuning: Let's bring the fun back into dysfunctional, it's a dysfunctional country, and we're bringing a little bit of the fun back to it.

>> Cailley: They're calling for accountability for the insurrection, but there are other grievances, too.

>> Dean: We are five, six years away from it and things have gotten worse.

Project 2025 has made the quality of life worse, and our country, we have, a fascist regime trying to take over our rights, trying to take over our responsibilities.

And these are the best posters I've seen today.

Illegal invasions won't make Epstein files go away.

We have a constitution, not a king.

Republicans, you can stop DJT.

Do it now.

Vote Democrat for science and the rule of law.

DJT is constitutional, un-American.

>> Cailley: Even in our digital age, these activists say democracy depends on people physically showing up.

In their view protests are still one of the clearest ways to remind leaders the voters are watching.

>> Stauffer: I do think it's important because it draws people together and it does, it helps to send the message out in a really positive way and in a way that says, you know, enough is enough and we have to stand together and stop this.

>> Cailley: Meanwhile, online, the story, of January 6th is being rewritten.

The white House marked the anniversary by releasing an official web page, placing the blame squarely on Democrats and classifying the rioters as political prisoners.

Patriotic Americans and peaceful protesters.

>> Griffin: I don't feel consciously like I did anything wrong on January the 6th.

>> Cailley: Coy Griffin, former Otero County commissioner and Cowboys for Trump founder, is one of them.

For his part in the riot, he was sentenced to 14 days in jail, removed from his position as a commissioner and then, thanks to section three of the 14th amendment, disqualified from holding elected office in New Mexico ever again.

The Supreme Court upheld that decision just last year.

Griffin was convicted of trespassing, but along with 1500 other rioters, he accepted a pardon from President Trump early last year.

>> Kuning: The president of the United States told all of these people, over a thousand of them, that it is perfectly okay to go in there and hurt and kill people to to support him, even though he did truly lose the election and to this day still saying that he won it.

>> Cailley: And the physical damage to the Capitol shattered glass, broken doors, torn up offices came with a multi-million dollar repair bill.

Judges ordered many rioters to pay to help cover those costs.

But the pardons mean the financial responsibility shifts to all taxpayers, not just the ones who stormed the building.

Back in Albuquerque, protesters saying they know they can't control what happens in Washington, but they can show up and make their voices heard.

>> Vigil: I should get to speak about what's happening in Americ and that Trump is a bad person and that he shouldn't be our president, and that.

Everything that's happening is pretty bad right now, and that it should stop >> Kuning: when I see all of this, these people give me hope.

All these honks give me hope.

You think that I think it's possible that we're going to get back, but it's going to take a long time.

We just have to keep working on it.

>> Cailley: For New Mexico In Focus, I'm Cailey Chella reporting.

>> Nash: Thanks to Cailley for getting out to the demonstration this week and to the folks you spoke with her about January 6th.

Now, five years on, if you were hoping to relax with friends or family or just get away from them entirely at a local taproom this holiday season, you might have been in for a surprise.

Bosque Brewing has closed all of its locations permanently, after a judge late last month threw out the company's request for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Boesky had originally filed for chapter 11 in October, aiming to reorganize and keep some, if not all, of its breweries open.

While the company worked through what we now know, we're some substantial debts, but last month's court decision gave the well-known brewery no choice but to close up shop.

So is this an isolated situation where a company got too far over its skis and toppled?

Is it an alarm for other craft breweries in the state, or is it some combination of the two?

Natalie Robins from the Albuquerque Journal has followed this saga, as has Chris Jackson, the lead blogger for Darkside Brew Crew who've covered this and other stories in New Mexico's beer scene for years.

They both sat down with senior producer Lou DiVizio this week to help us understand what happened and what it means for New Mexico's craft beer scene.

>> Lou: Natalie Robbins, Chris Jackson, thank you both so much for being here on New Mexico in Focus.

>> Both: Thank you.

>> Nash: Now, I had to run an errand in Bernalillo the other week, and I thought about stopping at Bosque's big taproom.

You know, that's one of the landmarks up there for me, anyway.

And pulled into the lot was empty signs on the door.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was surprised by that.

We knew Bosque was in some financial trouble dating back to October.

But, Natalie, can you fill us in on what's happened since and eventually led to these closures?

>> Robbins: Sure, so, in October, they filed for bankruptcy.

They filed for chapter 11, which, would have allowed them to keep everything open and kind of restructure their assets, to pay off their debts.

And, right at the end of the year, a judge, dismissed the case and said, you know, it's in the best interest of your creditors is that we liquidate.

And they closed, I think that was the 22nd of December, and they announced that they were closing everything just after Christmas.

And they had started closing locations, kind of after the initial filing.

But, now, you know, bosque is pretty much done, but they still will be brewing, at marble.

So they'll still do, I think, retail.

But yeah, there's no word on exactly how many people lost their jobs, but probably quite a few.

>> Nash: Sure.

Now, Chris, you run the blog Dark Side Brew Crew under the name Stout Meister.

And you've been covering this situation and the beer scene in general for years now.

How did Bosque get into this situation pre October and to eventually get to this point?

>> Jackson: Well it's you know, it's difficult to know exactly where it started.

But my general belief is, when Bosque first began to expand, you know, they were originally at the San Mateo location in Balloon Fiesta Park, north of Alameda, and they had opened the Nob Hill taproom.

They had opened their first taproom in Las Cruces.

And then they realized, you know, the space on San Mateo was inadequate for production.

So to have enough beer for taps and to start canning and distributing, they went to Bernalillo and opened the North Taproom.

But the North taproom was delayed a long time.

There are major issues with the construction on highway 550, especially over the bridge, which it's right next to.

And I think during that time they began to incur a significant amount of debt.

But the belief was, once we got this thing done, we're going to catch up.

We can open more locations if we'd like.

And then COVID hit.

And Bosque in particular, among the breweries seemed to almost have a bit of a panicked approach at the beginning of it.

They were open, were closed, were open, were closed.

They just kind of went back and forth.

They laid off half their staff and they brought them back.

They seemed very flustered by, the initial shutdown.

And afterwards, you know, as things began to return to, “normal” we saw a massive number of taprooms open.

You know, they opened two locations in Santa Fe.

They opened a second location in Las Cruces.

Albuquerque ended up with, I believe, seven, Albuquerque Metro seven total.

And they just seemed to, based on what we now know from the court records, they just kept piling up debt, and they they owed so much money to private investors.

They owed it to various companies, their food suppliers.

They went through multiple food suppliers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to each one of them.

And then obviously the biggest being, the bank in North Carolina, Live Oak, which $4 million is what they owed.

And, you know, if you follow any type of small business, you know that they probably incurred debt up to a point.

But for Bosque to have gotten to an estimated 20 million, I think, in debt, it just got, you know, it was unsustainable.

And that's really what the judge came to realize.

And Bosaue's attorney didn't protest it.

And that pretty much, you know, that was that.

>> Lou: Okay.

So in each of your estimations, but, Natalie, I'll start with you.

Is this a signal for the larger industry or is this more a result of poor management or a little of both?

You know, I think maybe both.

I think the industry is really kind of suffering nationwide.

Last year there's this group, the Brewers Association, that has a lot of data on breweries nationwide.

And there were, as of December 15th, there were 400, I think 434 breweries that had closed nationwide, and only, I think 200 some that had opened, I think, you know, production is down slightly, I think 5% nationwide for craft beer.

So the industry is really suffering, I don't know, I mean, the magnitude of their deaths is pretty significant, right?

It's like ten to to $50 million.

So, I don't know that that's, you know, attributable entirely to sort of an economic downturn, you know?

>> Lou: Okay, sure.

Chris, what do you think?

>> Jackson: I think Bosque is, in a sense, unique in this.

I really can't imagine any other breweries incurred anything like this.

You know, there's a lot of belief that Marble had incurred a lot of debt before, it was sold to the current owners.

You know, but they never came out publicly.

There was no bankruptcy, nothing like that.

And I doubt they're going to open their books to us and show us this in their private business.

But I think, yeah, you know, there are certainly a lot, there's a lot working against breweries right now.

Whether it's, you know, the government level stuff, the inflation, the tariffs, because a lot of, what breweries have is imported, you know, those big stainless steel fermenters you see in the back, those are largely made outside the US.

The aluminum cans, especially at the craft brewery level, are manufactured mostly in Canada.

A lot of the malted barley, the hops, you know, everything tends to come in from outside the US.

And but there's a lot of domestic too.

But then you look at some of the domestic factors that go into play here.

When there's a drought in the Pacific Northwest, all breweries are harmed by it because that means less barley, less hops.

There were forest fires in Oregon one year and it mulled the hop crop.

So there's always these outside factors they can't control.

And then there's things like, you know, generationally, we know that generation Z, they drink less, sort of the idea that most people have as well it because they're trying to be healthy.

And I said, well, it's also because they're broke.

I have plenty of younger coworkers and they still like to go out, but they're very mindful of how much they spend when they go out.

Whereas back in my day, in the early 2000s, you know, it was woohoo!

So, you know, I think that's definitely had an impact, too.

You look at breweries, they really tried to stretch themselves in terms of other things they offer, nonalcoholic beverages, some that they make, some they don't.

You see the mocktails now.

Really just having those options for people who don't drink and still want to go out, you know, we've seen an increase in the number of events that breweries will host.

You know, whether it's weekly trivia, more live music.

They have more vendor markets featuring local artisans.

They're definitely trying to do whatever they can to still keep people in the brewery because at the end of the day, what you sell out of those tap lines is more valuable to them than any canned product sold, even if it's from the brewery or through a store.

There's a greater return still on draft than anything.

>> Lou: Okay, so what you just laid out, there are those examples of how smaller breweries can stay in the game in a market that it's pretty packed.

I don't want to call it oversaturated because I know we had this conversation before the interview.

I guess, is it oversaturated and and what does a smaller brewery need to do to stay afloat?

>> Jackson: I don't think it's necessarily oversaturated.

I think there's definitely parts of town that are more concentrated.

You know, you look at Wells Park in particular is a very concentrated brewery area.

As you see the example of Asheville, North Carolina, which is a city less than half our size.

And we, you know, the Albuquerque metro area peaked at about 40 breweries, not counting off site taprooms, which is another 20 or so.

Asheville at one point had close to 100, in a city half our size population.

I know that that's it's been reduced there too.

But I always said, you know, oversaturation is a bit of a myth and a lot of the city, if you do the Google map of where are the breweries, you'll see the dead spots.

There's a lot of them.

But I think that, yeah, I think the Brewers just have to, you know, they have to stay innovative.

You know, we saw a rise at one point, especially in bigger cities like Denver of themed breweries.

You know, true brewing, being a heavy metal brewery, for instance.

But even that kind of concept only lasts so long.

And, you know, we saw an attempt here with Dual Brewing out of Santa Fe.

We're going to be a Belgian beer brewery.

That didn't click with audiences here, but now we've got Lasso Brewing that just opened downtown, and they're going to be a lager house.

They're only going to serve lagers.

And, you know, the one thing we do see is trending among those who are still drinking craft beer, lower ABV, lighter on, you know, the hop content and everything else.

So lagers are very popular right now.

Mexican lagers in general outsell IPAs now nationwide.

>> Lou: Okay.

All right, well that's interesting.

In terms of these locations that are still left, Natalie, are you aware of any future plans for them?

I mean, that's quite the facility that they have up there on 550.

>> Robbins: Right, I'm not aware.

It'll be interesting to see who moves in there.

If if anybody I know, I mean, when I talk to small businesses kind of across the board, people are having trouble.

So I don't know.

I don't know who who will move in there.

I imagine it might probably take a while.

>> Lou: Okay.

>> Jackson: I think that the Bernalillo location is kind of unique too, because one of the precipitating factors that ultimately led to a lot of the the issues, I think, just exacerbated things to the point of bankruptcy filing, was when the town of Bernalillo basically said, you're producing too much wastewater in that brewery.

And Bosque moved a lot of their production, initially back up to Denver and then to Marble.

So I think anyone who has an idea of we, we could take that space over and do a new brewery or an existing brewery could try to expand in that spot.

You're going to run into that same issue.

So I think as far as a brewery goes, while you have a taproom space, I don't feel like anything can really move into that production spot unless something can be resolved with Bernalillo.

But those are details where I don't think anyone's been privy to so far.

It's exactly what changed from when they opened before the pandemic to now that caused the town to be like, you can't make that much beer there anymore.

>> Lou: Okay, now bringing up Marble.

I know you said they're taking over their canning operations.

Bosque's that is.

But they had their own legal situation that they're dealing with too being sued by, an ex-employee, I'm sorry.

They're also fighting a lawsuit from Santa Fe Brewing.

What are those allegations, Natalie?

And has there been any development there?

I know it happened earlier last year.

>> Robbins: I believe it was an ex employee that was accused of, like, ripping off kind of insider information.

Is that right?

I'm not sure that there's been any developments thus far that I'm aware of.

Are you?

>> Jackson: I looked it up yesterday.

Because I got curious.

It just popped in my head.

So Jarrett Babincsack, who's now one of the co-owners of marble, he was the vice president of sales for Santa Fe Brewing.

Jartett had entered into, it's kind of complicated.

He entered into a contract where he, effectively stayed on at Santa Fe Brewing as a consultant.

In Jarrett's view, that contract was sort of he could leave at any time.

In Santa Fe Brewing's eyes, no, he was contractually committed to them for, I think three months maybe.

And he left.

And what Santa Fe Brewing's accused him of doing is basically stealing a bunch of employees, like luring them away to to move with him to marble and other elements.

I don't know, beer recipes would be on the, agenda, but, you know, certain elements of what Santa Fe Brewing does is a business behind the scenes.

He's essentially accused of taking that information and taking it to marble and then leaving early and, they paid him to do this.

They paid him upfront and he just took that money and they want the money back.

So, yeah, it definitely feels like one of those cases.

It's both business and personal.

And the last, thing, Jarrett filed a motion to dismiss, that was rejected by the judge.

The next step is not currently listed in the court record.

>> Lou: Is this something that could affect their business operations if it gets far enough down the road?

>> Jackson: It's just against Jarrett.

It's not against Marble.

Marble itself as a business has not been brought into this unless there's a separate lawsuit that I'm not saying, but I think right now it's more between the ownership of Santa Fe Brewing and Jarrett.

So, you know, marble certainly doesn't need, anything else bad to happen.

So hopefully they will be, kind of left out of this, you know, the initial filing read like they're not blaming Marble the business.

They're blaming Jarrett, the individual.

Okay.

>> Lou: Okay, all right.

One last question, I'll throw to both of you, starting with you, Natalie.

Anything else that you're watching for in the beer scene as everyone kind of grapples with this Bosque closure and we'll see who fits in where now?

>> Robbins: You know, I think it's really kind of interesting that Gen Z is choosing not to really drink craft beer.

I think that you made an excellent point.

I think there's much talk about Gen Z kind of not leaving the house or wanting to do anything, but I think it's a matter of just not having disposable income.

I wonder what would make them, would make young people kind of attracted to craft beer.

And I'm curious why they, choose not to buy it.

Maybe it's the cost.

But, you know, I think that these breweries really have to kind of get creative, whether that's, you know, through events or through kind of marketing or you know, community outreach or just kind of changing their product to adapt to tastes.

So it'll be interesting to see how, how people respond.

>> Lou: Okay.

What are you looking for, Chris?

>> Jackson: I think and it's some of that for sure.

You know, what we've really seen with craft beer is the hyper localization of craft beer.

You know, we used to have these big national brands, but a lot of them have reduced them, reduced their production and everything else.

You know, Santa Fe used to be in like nine states.

Now it only distributes to the bordering states.

For a lot of breweries, they say it's almost a lose lose to go out of state.

And this is before all of this happened too.

So I think we could see a drawback in production.

And a lot of the, you know, fewer cans, because it's kind of a money losing proposition right now.

And you do wonder about the places that have scaled up considerably in physical size, what that's going to do.

I think a lot of the smaller neighborhood pub breweries, whether gravity bound, sidetrack, you know, they seem to be able to survive.

You know, it just sort of depends on the ambition of the owners and yeah, it's going to just be, you know, I think people have always expected be a dramatic popping of the bubble, like we're going to have massive wave of closures and we have it.

It's never happened.

There's been like, I look back into the past year.

There is maybe I think four breweries that closed statewide.

So for all the doom and gloom, a lot of them are hanging in there.

And there's they are trying to innovate and they are trying to come up with new ideas.

So it should just be interesting to see, it's just I don't think it's going to be anything nearly as dramatic as Bosque.

It's just going to kind of be either a slow decline or a slow build back up.

And it should be fascinating to see really which path each individual brewery is able to take in the next, you know, 1 to 5 years.

>> Lou: Okay, all right.

Chris Jackson, Natalie Robbins, thank you both so much for being here.

>> Both: Thank you.

>> Nash: Thanks to Chris and Natalie and everyone else who contributed to the show.

Before we go, you may have heard this week that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has officially shut down.

I want to take a moment to clarify what that means.

After Congress clawed back two years of public broadcasting funding starting in October, the CPB, which helps fund public media stations like ours, began to wind down its operations.

It then had a choice of staying dormant or dissolving altogether.

Its board this week decided to call it quits.

In a letter to public media station CPB President Patricia Harrison and board chair Ruby Calvert said that dormancy would have left the organization vulnerable to, quote, continued political attacks, manipulation and potential misuse.

Though, to be clear, despite this move, NPR, PBS and their member stations like us aren't going anywhere.

Though Congress has stripped the federal funding, the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 remains intact and with the financial support of our viewers, underwriters, foundations and the state, New Mexico PBS will continue to fulfill our mission and bring you accurate, in-depth, useful local news here on InFocus, along with our other programs that you've come to rely on.

So while the funding landscape has shifted, our dedication to this work has not.

So thank you for watching and for supporting New Mexico Public Broadcasting.

On that note, join us next week when we will convene a panel of state House journalists for a deeper dive into the upcoming legislative session.

By then, we should have a better sense of the bills we're going to see for New Mexico PBS, I'm Nash Jones.

Until next week, stay focused.

>> Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by viewers like you.