Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by: Viewers Like You >> Nash: This week on New Mexico in Focus, we get ready to return to the Roundhouse.

A group of seasoned State House reporters helps us forecast the legislative session that begins next week.

>> Chacón: I think that there is a sense of urgency, at least within the Lujan Grisham administration, to try and get these big -- especially the universal child care through.

But we're also seeing sort of these loose ends that have not been resolved.

>> Nash: And speaking of Santa Fe, we'll give you a peek at how we plan to to cover oil and gas related proposals for the next several weeks.

New Mexico in Focus starts now.

Thanks for joining us, I'm Nash Jones.

This is our last episode before the 2026 New Mexico legislative session kicks off on Tuesday.

So we are going to spend the bulk of our time tonight analyzing what to expect.

It will be the last regular session for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

So we'll take a beat, to look ahead at the race to replace her.

With the mayor's race in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and elsewhere behind us.

It's about time we direct our attention to this important statewide election.

We'll start by making sure you know who's thrown their hats in the ring.

After that, House Speaker Javier Martinez returns to chat about how some recently passed housing and behavioral health funding is getting spent so far Starting next week, you are going to see the kind of legislative reporting that you have come to expect from us at [New Mexico] in Focus, with longtime correspondent Gwynth Dolan returning.

You're also going to see some changes.

For one, I'm going to be joining Gwyneth in Santa Fe to bring you even more stories from the Roundhouse, In Focus, Field reporter, Cailley Chella, will also be chipping in, bringing you stories of the real human impact of these policy decisions.

She's going to pop in tonight to ask for your help with one of those.

Finally, you are going to hear weekly from New Mexico based oil and gas reporter, Jerry Redfern, of the nonprofit news outlet Capital and Main.

We're collaborating with Jerry throughout the session to help you keep a close eye on his important beat.

He will tell you more about that project with executive producer Jeff Proctor later in the show.

But first, we convene an allstar panel of State Government journalists to prime you on the big ticket items that we expect to show up in the capital over the next month.

Here's part one of my conversation with Albuquerque Journal Capitol Bureau Chief, Dan Boyd.

Source New Mexico Editor in Chief Julia Goldberg and State Government reporter for the Santa Fe New Mexican, Daniel Chacón Thank you all for being here, I really appreciate it.

We're going to start in on the budget.

And since that is the the focus of a 30 day session, Lujan Grisham has -- during her tenure seen year after year record budgets.

Recent projections show that new money may be lower than what was once expected, though.

Dan how might that affect budget negotiations this session?

>> Boyd: Yeah, I mean, this current governor has been very fortunate when it comes to revenue levels.

We've seen state spending increased by more than 70% since she took office in 2019.

And now we're seeing that it's kind of leveling off when it comes to revenue.

New Mexico still in a lot better position than a lot of states.

But, you know, we're seeing that that revenue growth from oil production especially is kind of tapering off.

The new money projection for this coming fiscal year is a little over 100 million, which, you know, last year at this time it was more than 800 million.

So that kind of gives a sense that the money's still there, but that there's not as much as it was, and that there's going to be some harder decisions having to be made when it comes to the budget -- >> Nash: Will people maybe get a little scared about spending?

Are we expecting to see people, socking more money away in anticipation of this becoming a trend?

>> Boyd: From legislators, what we're hearing is just that, you know, it's going to be time to kind of, you know, things are going to get all tighter, a little more belt tightening.

You know, when it comes to state employees, probably not going to be getting 4% raises like they did last year.

Talking about 1% raises, kind of something in that range for teachers as well.

And then we're going to see, I think, a few key areas where there are going to be some real disagreements about the budget and how much spending is appropriate, given the revenue.

>> Nash: Let's talk about that.

So the governor has released her budget proposal.

So has the legislative finance committee.

Julia, what are the key differences between those two proposals?

>> Golderg: There's a handful -- I mean, there's a lot of similarities between the 11.3 and the 11.1 spending plans.

But one of the biggest gaps is the spending for the early Childhood Education and Care department.

There's about 163 million schism between what the governor wants and what the LFC wants, and that's to pay for universal child care.

There's some differences and the health care spending, there's some interesting things I found interesting.

There's a pretty big schism in what's being allotted for the secretary of State's office.

And I spoke with her yesterday about that because the governor is really proposing kind of a boost.

And she asked for a boost.

And the LFC is keeping the secretary of state's budget pretty flat.

>> Nash: Any sense of what that boost would be used for, >> Goldberg: What the Secretary Toulouse Oliver said to me is, first of all, the Secretary of State's office has had some increased costs related to the Trump Administration.

They're not getting as much from the federal government as they were.

And they're also fighting off some things from the federal government.

And she had asked for 14 million.

The governor recommended just under 12.

And the LFC budget keeps her pretty flat.

She was 9.5 last year at 9.8 this year.

So she had some concerns about that.

And then there's a big difference between the LFC's allocation for the McKinley County DA Bernadine Martin and the governor.

The LFC sort of keeping -- the background being that Bernadine Martin is facing a trial to be removed from office, and she was sort of punitively - her budget was really addressed that it's a couple hundred thousand dollars -- >> Nash: The governor wants that back up to where it used to be - >> Goldberg: Wants it back up to just under -- you know, under 4 million, sort of in line with other DA's only LFC's keeping it at what it was.

>> Nash: All right, let's let's drill down into some of those items.

Universal child care being the biggest difference.

Daniel, you reported that the governor's feeling disappointed about the LFC's proposal on universal child care.

What happens if one of her signature proposals doesn't get fully funded?

>> Chacón: That's a great question.

And we'll have to wait and see.

I mean, I know that the governor has called Special Sessions in the past, so that's not out of the question.

But there is a big difference, as Julia noted in the two budgets, with the governor proposing $160 million to expand child care assistance, while the Lucy's, recommendation for the early childhood and education care department is is an increase of less than $14 million.

So that's a big gap.

So that's going to set up, I think, some contention at the legislature.

>> Nash: So what did you hear from the governor about about her or her feelings about that?

>> Chacón: Well, the governor, as you indicated, expressed some disappointment about that.

But she also acknowledged that, she wasn't exactly surprised because up to this point, lawmakers have expressed some misgivings about going this far.

At the same time, members of the legislative finance Committee indicated that, you know, this budget is a starting point and that there's room for negotiate.

So we'll see how it all kind of shakes out during the session.

>> Nash: There's a lot of room for movement still.

I mean, we've got 30 days where this is going to be discussed.

Dan, why would the LFC be funding the healthcare authority at such a lower level than the governor's office wants to?

>> Boyd: Some of that is my understanding is whether the state should kind of, backfill these federal funds that the state is going to be losing.

I mean, we're expected to see Medicaid enrollment drop by quite a bit, in large part because the federal budget bill.

And while that, you know, poses some challenges to the state, it also means, less costs when it comes to paying for Medicaid.

>> Nash: So, so funding them higher so that they can deal with all of these massive changes, or funding them lower because enrollment might drop?

>> Boyd: Exactly.

And some of that would be how much increase administrative spending does the state want to spend to oversee some of these new Medicaid challenges?

We also saw with the SNAP program, you know, during the Special Session last fall, there's also the state's going to be on the hook for more administrative costs when it comes to administrating those programs.

And but exactly how much money -- it'll take to do some of that.

That's kind of the question that'll be worked out -- >> Nash: So, trying to find out what they actually need to do their work, speaking of those federal cuts, the lawmakers met in special sessions last year, in last fall to shore up some of those federal cuts.

SNAP ACA subsidies, which have now ended, Medicaid, public media funding.

Julia, are there other federal cuts that the lawmakers may have their eyes on and are going to try to fill in?

>> Goldberg: I mean, the executive budget has money set aside still for SNAP, for CANA, for low income energy assistance and kind of across the board.

And I think the the crux is you don't know it's coming.

at the beginning of the week, the Trump administration was cutting, you know, $2 billion in addiction and mental health services.

And then that was backtracked 24 hours later.

And, you know, when I talked to the governor at the end of the year, also known as last month, and said, you know, what are you what's your advice to your successor about governing during the Trump Administration?

Her advice is like, always have money set aside.

>> Nash: It reminds me of that SNAP funding, and it was -- there was a conversation about the government reopening.

And right before while those negotiations were really heating up, the state put that money aside and filled people's EBT cards with the idea that maybe it wasn't needed.

I mean, that whole Special Session really in November.

>> Goldberg: You have a state that is very dependent on a lot of those federal programs.

And I think -- I don't think any lawmakers are saying, let's not fill in those gaps.

>> Boyd: And I think just to jump in quick, there is a plan to continue some of those AC, the ACA premium subsidies that we saw in the special session and extend that for another year.

So I think, you know, to Julie's point, that New Mexico is better positioned to kind of absorb some of these these impacts coming from DC than, than other states might be.

And and instead of waiting to see what Congress does or doesn't, do, you know, able to kind of backfill some of these, at least for at least for now we'll see about -- >> Nash: Speaker Martinez said, last week on this show, nobody can do it all.

>> Boyd: Right.

>> Nash: Public media funding is one other place where, the legislature passed one year of the two, two years of funding that were clawed back by Congress and the rescission package, that was in October.

The governor told me last year that she was going to put it on her budget to do that second year of funding.

She has.

It's not in the LFC budget, any sense -- have any of you heard from any lawmakers about whether there will be some contention around that disparity?

>> Boyd: I haven't heard too much yet specifically on that.

I think that's one issue that we could kind of see once the session gets underway.

You know, maybe that getting added into the budget or kind of settling on a certain amount of money.

But certainly I think these budget recommendations are starting points.

And it's typical for things to get changed or added in as it as the process moves forward through the house and then over to the Senate side.

>> Nash: So we'll watch those debates.

>> Chacón: And when you have an 11.1 or $2.3 billion budget it's also very easy for things to kind of get lost in the shuffle.

And so those are the things that kind of come up during the session.

If something is perhaps forgotten about.

>> Nash: It was an oversight maybe.

>> Boyd: Yeah.

>> Nash: Yeah.

>> Goldberg: Or hidden somewhere and called something here.

[All laughing] >> Nash: Yeah.

>> Nash: And we all know that that can be the case.

Sometimes it's hard to track things down.

And let's move on from the budget.

Talk about a few, reforms that that we may be, expecting to see.

Daniel, you wrote earlier this week that we should expect ICE to get the cold shoulder from New Mexico during this session.

How so?

What have you heard?

>> Chacón: Absolutely.

Peter Wirth, appeared before the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce and kind of gave a roadmap of what the first two weeks will look like and what bills will be considered in those first two weeks.

And one of those priority bills will be a bill that will essentially, prohibit, local governments from contracting with ICE.

This is a bill that has been tried in the past, and it kind of stalled in a legislative committee in the Senate.

And what's interesting about what Wirth said is that the entire Democratic caucus of the Senate is now on board, and it's passed in the House in the past.

So it's likely to pass this time around.

There is sort of a it could be somewhat symbolic, though, because, the federal government can also just contract directly with, or I'm sorry, these private companies can contract directly with with ICE.

So again, it may be more symbolic.

And there's also a concern about, you know, New Mexico possibly being in the crosshairs of the Trump administration if it, goes down this road.

But again, it looks like that's going to pass this time around.

>> Nash: Do you have something?

>> Goldberg: In the governor's office told us this week she will include it on the call.

So it's you know, it's going to happen.

But we're also hearing from, you know, some of the smaller communities, like the Torrance County chair who's concerned about the impact it could have on their towns if detention -- >> Nash: Economically.

>> Goldberg: Economically, yeah.

>> Boyd: I would think that that's one that we won't see a lot of bipartisan agreement on that proposal.

I know that came up in some interim committees last fall, and even some legislators went on a tour, I believe, of one of the facilities.

And I think we saw even then kind of some sparks flying, kind of on a partisan basis.

And I would expect more of that on that bill, especially if it's kind of fast tracked in the session.

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

That's going to be a big one.

There have been proposals to join interstate compacts.

Time and time again, they've generally passed in the House, stalled in the Senate in Special Session in the fall.

There was some funding spent on or allocated to researching, preparing for this.

Speaker Martinez told me it was one of his top priorities to get done early on in the session.

Dan, what are these compacts and what benefits do supporters say that they would provide the state?

>> Boyd: Yeah, so these compacts are kind of, you know, states can join as different members.

Currently, New Mexico is only a member of the nursing compact.

And as you mentioned, there have been bills to join other compacts and those have failed to move forward.

But there has been kind of growing political momentum for this, especially given the state's just health care provider shortage and a lot of people facing issues of trying to access health care >> Nash: So, it would ramp up recruiting or allow for more recruiting.

>> Boyd: Yeah, and it would make it easier for, let's say a physician from Texas, if they wanted to be able to come to New Mexico and do work or even telehealth, it would kind of speed up the credentialing and make that easier.

So, since last fall, since that special session, there has been a bipartisan working group of legislators.

Our understanding is that when it comes to the compact for physicians and also one for social work, that those could be kind of fast tracked during the session.

There's going to be other compact bills as well.

But I I'm not sure whether those will get the same kind of, you know, quick start as the compact for, for the doctors and for social workers.

>> Nash: What's the argument against them, I mean, why have they failed?

>> Boyd: Well, I think there is an argument about whether they need to be kind of an up or down vote or whether the state can make amendments and -- >> Nash: Okay.

>> Boyd: And the Senate, I think has had some misgivings about making sure that -- some confidential information isn't kind of, compromised in any of these compacts, things like that, especially when it comes to, health care providers who perform, you know, reproductive rights, those kind of services.

So I think that's one issue the Senate says that they are, you know, that they figured out these changes and they're on board with them.

So, we'll see.

But it seems like they're poised to move quickly.

>> Nash: All right.

We'll see.

Another piece of the puzzle with addressing the doctor shortage is, medical malpractice insurance reform.

The governor told me she will put it on her call.

Julia.

What sort of fixes might that system need?

>> Goldberg: The two big ones, I've heard have been capping punitive damages and also raising the evidentiary standard by which juries consider those damages.

So those are definitely two elements that proponents are saying would make a really big difference.

Think New Mexico, which has been backing both the medical compacts -- >> Nash: It's a nonpartisan think tank.

>> Goldberg: Right, and has backed both of these reforms as ways to address that Physician shortage.

I mean, really points out that New Mexico is sort of an outlier with not having those caps and not that and has a lower standard for evidence than maybe like more than 20 other states.

>> Nash: When Speaker Martinez was on the show last week, he basically said that medical malpractice reform is not a silver bullet.

I kind of pushed him on the special interests involved in advocating against that kind of reform, mainly the trial lawyers, who who do donate significantly to Democratic lawmakers.

He said, basically, it's not a factor in why this hasn't passed.

Daniel, what's your take on why it's failed so far?

>> Goldberg: Okay, then.

>> Nash: Yeah.

>> Chacón: Well, I'm not entirely sure that I buy that argument, especially when we had a a special interest group.

Some folks refer to it as the Dark Money Group, called New Mexico Safety or for profits that, poured in huge amounts of money to try and defeat any efforts for medical malpractice reform.

They've been involved, where I should say the New Mexico Ethics Commission got involved and kind of lifted the curtain on who this group was.

And we, through their, efforts, were able to determine that these were, this was a group that was backed by high powered attorneys and law firms.

So there is some influence out there by the trial lawyers.

>> Nash: And what's the argument against -- what are they against around this kind of reform?

>> Chacón: That's a good question.

I don't know if I can -- >> Boyd: Yeah I mean, I think there's concerns about obviously patient safety.

And there have been some high profile medical malpractice cases -- so I think that's kind of the argument that that these hospitals need, you know, need to be paying and need to make sure that patients are compensated.

But, I think, as you know, Daniel and Julia both talked about, I mean, there are some pretty fierce competing interests on this issue, and I think there will be bills.

I don't think they're kind of fully baked like some of these compact bills.

I we'll see if they pass.

But I can imagine that's something that will be maybe going into the final days of the session.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's still kind of in limbo.

>> Nash: Another priority that Speaker Martinez outlined for him, at least, was CYFD reform the Children Youth and Families Department.

That has been high on a lot of lawmakers list.

This is a beleaguered department that has gotten a lot of criticism for its treatment of very vulnerable youth in the state.

The governor recently named a new head to an office that was passed last year, which was the office of the Child Advocate.

Dan, who is Don Walters?

This person who's been named the new head of that office.

And should we expect the Senate to confirm here this session?

>> Boyd: Yeah, I would expect the Senate to confirm her.

She was, kind of one of three names sent to the governor from a nominating commission out of this legislation passed last year.

Interestingly, her past job has been with CYFD.

I think, which you could view that as either a positive sign or a negative sign, depending on your perspective.

But she does have that experience with the department.

And if she's confirmed, she'll take over this new role of the child advocate for the state, which is intended to kind of provide outside oversight of CYFD.

>> Nash: Yeah, kind of a third party oversight through the the Department of Justice, the state Department of Justice.

>> Boyd: And it was a contentious issue during the Sixty Days session last year.

I think the governor had some misgivings about kind of being second guessed by this outside office.

Eventually, she came around after they made a few changes to the bill.

But I think there'll be you know, I don't think the debate is over about CYFD.

I think there'll be more proposals.

And that's one.

>> Nash: Have you all heard what else we're expecting around reforming CYFD?

I know that the speaker mentioned he wants to see a constitutional amendment, basically pulling the department out from under executive oversight, out from under the governor's office.

And any word of other reforms >> Boyd: that's the kind of one where our constitutional amendments do not need a message to be germane.

So that could be something we see on CYFD or other issues.

>> Nash: meaning that, yeah this is a budget session germane.

Meaning it's either about the budget or it's on the governor's call.

But a constitutional amendment can be something that's not on either.

>> Boyd: Exactly right.

So it's not something that needs the governor's approval to be added, you know, to be taken up for consideration.

>> Nash: Nor does it need to be signed by the governor, if I understand right.

If they've both, chambers approve it, it would then go to the voters.

>> Boyd: That's right.

Yeah.

So that's that's one.

And I think we could see that on other issues as well.

But I could see that with CYFD whether it has support in both chambers.

You know, that's another question, but at least a way to kind of start that debate.

>> Nash: I've asked about a lot of, reforms and proposals that are on my mind.

Anything I haven't asked about that you all are expecting to see that you feel like is going to be a big ticket item.

>> Boyd: You know, one that I'll throw out there.

Also, a constitutional amendment.

We've heard a lot of talk about paying legislators a salary in recent years.

I think that'll be brought back.

And also talk about whether to change the current structure of 60 day sessions and 30 day sessions.

I think there's some talk about whether there should be a 45 day session every year, so that I understand, might also be proposed.

I don't know whether they'll be traction to move those forward to voters this year, but that's another issue to to keep an eye on.

>> Nash: Julia?

>> Goldberg: I don't know if that has traction, but I know lawmakers are pushing for it some.

AI regulations, and I'm curious to see if those are allowed in and how those conversations happen, especially since it's sort of on a collision course with the federal government that doesn't want states to have autonomy over those issues.

>> Nash: Right.

Thanks so much for this.

I'm going to ask you to stick around.

This is going to be the governor's last regular legislative session.

So I want to break down some of her must haves and, how this session might impact her legacy as a termed out governor.

So, stick around.

Thank you.

>> Redfern: I've never been to, Venezuela.

I've never, you know, looked at a boat of Venezuelan crude.

But from every single thing that I've read and people that I've talked to, I think most people have probably heard this.

You're looking at billions of dollars in upfront costs to get Venezuela producing at any sort of reasonable level.

Again, you're looking at years before it's going to make a sizable dent in, I think, global, global, the global oil industry, when you get right down to it, >> Nash: we'll hear more from capital and main journalist Jerry Redfern in about ten minutes as we look forward to his special coverage during the session.

As we enter the final regular session of governor Lujan Grisham's tenure, we're going to take a quick look ahead at some of her potential replacements.

So far, 13 candidates have filed paperwork with the secretary of state.

The deadline for major party candidates to turn in nominating petitions is February 3rd, starting with the Democrats.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman is taking his first run at the governor's office.

He's already earned endorsements from several unions, including the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, Two tribes, and a Pueblo.

Former U.S.

Representative Deb Haaland is hoping to return to New Mexico as governor after serving four years as U.S.

interior secretary during the Biden administration.

She's received endorsements from dozens of state lawmakers and national leaders, including all of New Mexico's congressional delegation, except that Martin Heinrich, who hasn't endorsed anyone yet.

Haaland also boasts several Pueblo endorsements.

The third Democrat is Ken Miyagishima He served four consecutive terms as mayor of Las Cruces from 2007 to 2023, making him the longest serving mayor there since 1907.

Moving on to the Republicans, Jim Ellison announced his candidacy earlier this month.

The former public regulation commissioner served for two years and lives in the Albuquerque area.

Greg Hull has served as mayor of Rio Rancho since 2014, the longest serving in city history.

He spent 11 years as CEO of an Albuquerque shipping company, and has earned the endorsement of several rural mayors and state lawmakers.

Steve Lanier is a state senator from Aztec who spent nearly three decades teaching and coaching in northern New Mexico.

He served as a San Juan County Commissioner before being elected senator for district two.

Duke Rodriguez is a businessman and CEO of Ultra Health Cannabis Company.

He was a cabinet secretary under former Governor Gary Johnson.

Running what was called the Human Services Department at the time.

A fifth Republican, Brian Cillessen, is listed as a candidate on the Secretary of State's website, but is said he won't run unless he earns enough support to make him a viable candidate.

To date, he hasn't raised a dollar.

The secretary of state also lists Belinda Robinson of Las Cruces as a Republican candidate for governor, but she hasn't collected any campaign contributions either.

Four Independants, have filed paperwork with the state.

Two of them, Meliton Issac Gonzalez and Tristan Kumar both from Albuquer both from Albuquerque, haven't reported any campaign contributions to this point.

Gene Pettit, a pastor in Radium Springs, has had some financial activity around his campaign and spoke to a source in New Mexico last year, saying he wants to, quote, bring God back into the state.

Jacob Smith's independent campaign is up and running as well.

Smith lives in Rio Rancho and works for the University of New Mexico.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that Smith was fired in 2024 after reporting alleged misconduct within the nursing college.

He filed an ethics complaint against UNM, which was dismissed over a lack of jurisdiction.

Again, the deadline for major party candidates to file nominating petitions with the Secretary of State's office is February 3rd.

The primary elections are Tuesday, June 2nd, and the general election is Tuesday, November 3rd.

Last week, we brought you a long conversation with Democratic House Speaker Javier Martínez about what his caucus expects to get done in the upcoming session.

This week, the speaker gives us an update on how a few bills lawmakers passed last year and the year before we're showing up today.

Speaker Martínez, thanks for sticking around with us.

>> Martínez: Thank you, Nash.

>> Nash: Last year, the legislature passed some sweeping behavioral health reforms, including a trust fund that will start paying out in July of this year.

A committee responsible for implementing these really broad reforms has been meeting.

Where does, the rollout of that act stand today?

>> Martínez: So it's rolling out as we speak.

Just a few weeks ago, the Second Judicial District rolled out its program.

That money will be distributed through all 13 judicial districts, and it is designed to pull people into those behavioral health supports that they might need as they engage with the criminal justice system.

Now, in terms of the broader investments to rebuild, the system, that is a work in progress, right?

As we talked about earlier, about the shortage of health health care professionals, it is the same with behavioral health professionals as well.

And as long as Trump continues to destabilize the entire health care industry, it's something that states are going to have to step up and figure out.

Now we are fortunate in New Mexico that we both have the money and we have the local expertise to navigate these times.

But it is a work in progress, and it's going to take a while longer.

>> Nash: And finally, the legislature has spent heartily on housing over the last couple regular sessions in 2024.

I believe there was a $200 million investment, just last year, more than 100 million more, that was in collaboration, that most recent one with counties and cities, which was intended to get things moving a little faster.

So, has the ground been broken on some of those projects and, and maybe more telling, are people now housed who weren't?

>> Martinez: Yes.

Great question.

So, your viewers should know that through the Mortgage Finance Authority, which is a quasi governmental agency created by the legislature many, many years ago, a long before our time.

There are dedicated funding streams every single year that go to that work of building affordable housing.

And that continues right, that that is almost automatic.

And kudos to former Senator Nancy Rodriguez, for whom this was her baby, and she was always watching it like a hawk.

And now that she's gone, there are others like me who are watching those budgets like a hawk to make sure that money continues to flow, to build all of these developments across the state.

Where we pivoted a little bit this last year was we brought the county, Bernalillo County.

We brought the city of Albuquerque together.

And kudos to former state Rep Damien Eli, who really was the brain trust behind this whole thing.

And he challenged the city and the county to move 1000 unhoused individuals into supportive and transitional housing.

County and city came together.

They put together a plan.

They proposed to the legislature last year, and we appropriated $100 million for that effort.

>> Nash: Any update?

>> Martinez: with an additional 10 million for Las Cruces?

Yeah.

The update is this, ground has been broken in a ton of projects here in town.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, we cut the ribbon at an old hotel off of I-40 and fourth Street, which is housing 73 formerly unhoused families with babies in supportive housing, with social workers on site, 24 over seven, a school bus to take the kids to school.

Incredible coordination between the county.

It's a county facility and APS to ensure that these kids, who had previously been unhoused have all the resources that they need.

That is precisely the type of investment that the state needs to keep making.

We are going to continue making it, and that's one example.

By the end of January, I think we'll be really close to hitting the 1000 mark, an incredible accomplishment for this county, for the city and for the legislature.

You know, government has to work for the people.

And that, in my opinion, is the problem that Democrats nationwide have had for a while is they are not delivering results.

Right.

We get tied up into these fancy, you know, headlines and we forget about the nuts and bolts, the bread and butter issues.

Well, not here in New Mexico.

Whether it's child care, whether it's health care, whether it's housing, your legislature will continue to deliver for you.

>> Nash: Speaker thanks for the updates.

>> Martinez: Thank you.

>> Nash: Thanks to Speaker Martinez for coming in and chatting with me.

You can watch our 20 minute conversation from last week's episode on the NMiF YouTube page right now.

Lawmakers are preparing to debate how the state will spend billions in public dollars.

And as you heard from our panel of journalists, money for the governor's proposed universal childcare program is likely to generate the most heat.

In focus reporter Cailley Chella is working on a story about this issue for later in the session, not the dollars and cents and the line items, but the child care landscape in our state.

And she could use your help.

>> Cailley: Lawmakers will meet at the round House on Tuesday when the session officially begins, but budget negotiations are already shaping the conversation.

Last year, it made national news when Governor Lujan Grisham announced plans to make New Mexico the first state to offer free childcare to every family, regardless of income.

>> Grisham: New Mexico is the first in the nation again to announce universal access free childcare for every New Mexico family in the State of Mexico.

That started in Mexico and supports >> Cailley: The Universal Child Care program, which officially launched last November, is projected to cost more than $600 million a year.

But the legislature will have to agree to fund it.

Earlier this month, legislative leaders released an $11.1 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2027, which actually begins this July.

But the governor's proposed budget goes further than what the legislative Finance Committee is recommending.

She's asking for about $150 million more for the Early Childhood Education and Care Department, the agency in charge of universal child care, >> Grisham: and to the legislature.

If we don't have the trust fund, it's not sustainable.

If we don't have a little bit of money out of the permanent fund, and we don't have the trust fund, and you don't make appropriations to this priority.

It doesn't stay.

>> Cailley: Whether lawmakers agree to fully fund universal child care, it will be decided during the session as legislators weigh the program against other budget priorities like health care, public safety and housing.

And we want to hear from you.

If you're a grandparent helping raise your grandchildren or providing regular childcare, and this program could affect your family, we want to tell your story.

Shoot me an email at cchella at NM PBS.org.

That's cchella at NM.

PBS.org.

For New Mexico In Focus.

I'm Cailley Chella reporting.

>> Nash: Thanks in advance for helping Cailley shed some light on what is behind the governor's push for universal child care.

So for years, reporter Jerry Redfern has documented the ill fated oil and gas reform bills introduced at the roundhouse.

Jerry covers New Mexico's fossil fuel industry for the nonprofit news organization Capital in Maine.

He's seen the industry throw its weight around the roundhouse.

His end of session headline from 2024 could've run last year, and plenty of years before that, for that matter.

Quote another New Mexico legislative session ends.

And again, no new oil and gas reforms.

And yet, each year, new bills are introduced.

Well, this year Jerry will continue his coverage with Capital and Main while also joining us on In Focus each week to keep you updated on his reporting in Santa Fe.

This week, Jerry tells executive producer Jeff Proctor what he expects to see at this year's session.

>> Jeff: Jerry, it's nice to see you, and I am glad to have you in here to discuss the little conspiracy we've hatched to have you keep an eye on oil and gas doings during the upcoming legislative session.

To that end, as we just heard in Nash's intro, oil and gas reporting is kind of your jam.

So what has happened during the past few sessions on that front?

>> Redfern: Precious little, I think is the best way to probably put it.

You know, I frame previous reporting or previous bills that have come up in previous sessions based on what's happened when looking at the Oil and Gas Act, which is what I sort of call the operating system of the Oil Conservation Division, which is the state's main oil gas policing agency.

And that software, shall we say, hasn't been fully updated since the 80s.

That's coming from, you know, the oil conservation division themselves that's had minor updates here and there.

But you can imagine how much the oil and gas industry has changed in that time.

>> Jeff: What is your sense of why that is?

I know from reading your reporting and others reporting that the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, for example, is very nice to lawmakers, what does that look like in practice?

>> Renfern: I think that looks like a lot of discussions behind the scenes that essentially say, gee, if you implement these new rule changes, it's going to cost us from doing business in the Permian Basin, and we'll have to take our operations elsewhere.

And I think an awful lot of politicians think that's actually true, although there's actually very little to show that that's the way things actually work.

I mean, the oil and gas is here.

You can't take it with you and drill it in Wyoming just because you'd like to.

So yeah, I think that's predominantly what's going on.

And it's not just democra.

I mean, all of the major oil and gas companies operate in New Mexico, and they also pay a lot of money to legislators to keep getting them elected.

I've written about that as well, and they pay an awful lot in state taxes and revenues.

And that's why we have the budget that we have for the last five years.

And I think all these ideas sort of roll around inside of politicians heads.

>> Jeff: Okay, Jerry, for those of us who are paying attention, that's grim.

Let's look ahead.

What are you expecting in terms of oil and gas legislation for the upcoming session that starts next week?

>> Redfern: I think the really big piece of legislation that's coming up is coming from Senator Mimi Stewart is the Clear Horizons Act.

If you've heard about that before, it's because you've heard about that before.

It's, made a regular appearance, since 2019, essentially in one form or another.

It is the codification of the governor's third executive order on coming to office in 2019.

And the main point of it is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state across the board by 45% by 2030.

>> Jeff: that's coming right up.

>> Redfern: Yeah, that's coming right up.

That's real quick.

And it's not happening.

It's not looking like that's necessarily going to be a thing that happens.

So a big reason that oil and gas has been opposed to that is that in previous versions of the bill, it is called for direct emissions reductions at the source.

So think of it like, for example, just a power station burning natural gas or coal or whatever.

It would require huge emissions reductions at that smokestack.

And the oil gas field, it's greatly more complicated.

Big difference is coming up in the bill this year is she is added parts with help >> Jeff: Senator Stewart.

>> Redfern: Senator Stewart thanks has added a part with prompting from the oil and gas industry to do what's called carbon offsets.

So instead of directly reducing emissions at the source, you can just as an example, you can do carbon capture and sequestration and some other place.

You can grow a forest where you're binding that carbon into trees for a long period of time.

You can, you know, grow crops or whatever.

The big issue with that is that that's been common across the planet for years now.

And in recent years, there have been a huge number of these very large carbon, sequestration ideas that have, you know, gone really sideways or been subject to fraud accounts.

So, yeah, it's, it's going to be really interesting to watch.

>> Jeff: For sure, again, back to those of us who have paid attention over the years, close attention to the Socratic wonder that is the New Mexico Legislature.

We know that often things tend to happen at the end of these legislative sessions.

Anything sort of oil and gas related that you've got your eye out for, that might happen at the 11th hour that we haven't heard about until the 11th hour.

>> Redfern: Yeah.

You know, I'm really wondering if, we'll see a return of what was called the oil and gas equalization Tax Act, which is, you know, it really rolls off the tongue.

But it's a funny thing is that oil is actually taxed at a slightly lower rate than natural gas is in the state because of a weird quirk, I think back in the 80s and at the very tail end of last session, a couple of representatives came up with the idea of equalizing those taxes.

Let's just, you know, raise oil tax up the fraction that it's missing from, you know, the gas tax over here and bring in some, you know, extra money to the state.

Well, you can probably imagine heads exploded that did not go over particularly well.

You know, there are a number of representatives and senators who thought this was a great idea.

So it wasn't killed outright, right immediately.

It eventually got stripped way down, shrunk, folded into another tax bill and eventually killed in a closed door session.

One of those, committee meetings where senators and representatives get together and they don't have to tell you what they're talking about.

They came out of that and said, we're not going to do it.

But I wouldn't be too surprised to see if something like that comes up again, because it could produce an awful lot of money for the state.

>> Jeff: Gotcha.

I think that most viewers will be good and familiar at this point that the United States is now doing, extrajudicial foreign leader kidnapings on foreign soil.

So I have to ask, while we're having this conversation, Jerry, what about Venezuela?

What might that have to do with the oil and gas picture in New Mexico?

>> Redfern: I think very little.

And this is I've never been to, Venezuela.

I've never, you know, looked at a boat to Venezuela and crude.

But from every single thing that I've read and people that I've talked to, I think most people have probably heard this.

You're looking at billions of dollars in upfront costs to get Venezuela producing at any sort of reasonable level again.

You're looking at years before it's going to make a sizable dent in, I think, global the global oil industry, when you get right down to it.

>> Jeff: As we were preparing for this conversation, you kind of bounced what you called three big numbers from the last session to watch as we head into this one.

What are those numbers?

Yeah, I'm going to say four at this point.

Maybe we have five.

Let's go for four.

So the first one is 10.8 billion.

The second is 10 billion.

The third is 400 million.

And the last one is 300 million.

And 10.8 billion.

Was the budget last year that our legislature put together right.

10 billion was the amount bounced out by Representative Lente during a committee hearing at the end of last session, saying that's how much oil and gas made in profit in New Mexico in 2024.

Net profit $10 billion.

The next one 400 million was the initial amount that the Legislative Finance Committee said would come into the state of New Mexico if it had enacted, if the legislature last session had enacted that Oil and Gas Equalization Tax Act as it was originally proposed.

So that could have brought in 400 million to the state.

And the last one is kind of the other part of my meat.

That's 300 billion.

That's the amount that the Rio Grande Sierra Club tallied in last year's budget, 300 million that the state spent on climate change remediation, climate change damage cleanup.

Pretty much all of the legislation dealing with paying for the effects of climate change driven by burning oil and gas, so brings it all kind of around.

>> Jeff: I hope that viewers will continue to pay attention to those numbers as we go forward.

Let's return briefly here at the end to that conspiracy I mentioned at the beginning of our conversation.

What can New Mexico in Focus viewers expect to see from you over the course of the next several weeks?

>> Redfern: I'm sure many of them will think too much, but I'm hoping to do a little bit of reporting, possibly from down in the Permian Basin, hoping to do an interview or two with some legislators or legislature adjacent people up in the round House during the session, and probably talking with you again and just talking in general about the bills in play.

The bills no longer in play.

And some of the debates behind them and why they matter.

>> Jeff: Awesome.

Thank you so much in advance for keeping an eye on this incredibly important beat for us.

I'm looking forward to working with you and I. You.

And I you.

Thanks, Jeff.

>> Jeff: Thank you.

>> Nash: Thanks to Jerry Redfern and Capital and Maine for partnering with us this session to keep a close eye on such a crucial issue.

And tune in next week for his first installment.

Now let's get back to my conversation with a panel of state House journalists hashing out the upcoming session.

It is a consequential one for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

It's the termed out Democratic governor's last regular session in office.

So what are her must haves?

How might what gets done and what doesn't affect her legacy?

And is there any chance she won't call lawmakers back for a special session before she takes off?

Those are the questions I posed to Source New Mexico's Julia Goldberg, the Santa Fe New Mexican's Daniel Chacon and the Albuquerque Journal's Dan Boyd in part two of our conversation.

Welcome back.

Thanks for sticking around.

Daniel, this is going to be Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham last regular session.

Does that put any pressure on lawmakers?

Does it mean that we might see some unique proposals?

What impact might it have?

>> Chacon: Well, it kind of reminds me of the, song by Eminem, where he talks about, like, you got one last opportunity you got to seize it or you know, >> Nash: Don't miss your chance.

>> Chacon: Don't miss your chance.

And this is I think that there is a sense of urgency, at least within the Lujan Grisham administration.

To try and get these big, especially the universal child care, through.

But we're also seeing sort of these loose ends that have not been resolved, whether it be crime or medical malpractice reform.

So there is this sense that we got to get that she's got to get things done because this is her last opportunity.

>> Nash: Well, yeah, because the governor and the lawmakers haven't always seen eye to eye on the lawmakers in her own party.

What does that mean for how they might feel about her lame duck status?

If that's if that's the label you want to put on her.

Does that give her more power?

Does it give her less, influence?

>> Boyd: I mean, I would say it gives her less influence.

I mean, we've seen I was around for the final year of Governor Martinez and Governor Richardson and both of those governors.

Their relationship had really soured with the legislature.

So I do think Governor Lujan Grisham has a chance to go out on a little more of a positive note than those, past governors.

I remember Governor Martinez's last year.

I don't think they barely passed anything.

It was just kind of waiting for the next governor to take office.

So but, you know, that said, I do think there's some issues where, you know, the legislature, she might not have a lot of leverage to get certain issues passed, especially when it comes to public safety and crime, where we've already seen a little bit of a divide.

>> Nash: Right.

I think back to the 2024 special that was about public safety.

Lawmakers adjourned in a matter of a couple hours without passing anything that she wanted done.

Let's talk about what that might look like this session.

Julia, what what are you looking out for on the public safety, lines?

>> Goldberg: I mean, I actually think the governor's relationship with the legislature seems like it's improved in the last few years because she's drawn such hard lines that there's a lot more common ground now.

We're anticipating proposals on gun reform from Democrats, as well as enhanced penalties from Republicans.

And I think there's areas of overlap with the governor's agenda that are on both sides.

>> Nash: Yeah, so she does want to see enhanced penalties if the Republicans, who are a significant minority in both chambers bring it.

Does it have any chance?

>> Goldberg: I actually think it does.

I think that the Republican task force has had a somewhat bipartisan turnout this year, including the governor's own public safety advisor has shown up for those panels.

As have law enforcement, which sort of enjoys bipartisan support, to a degree.

>> Chacon: And the governor, you'll recall in the last year has toured the state and done public safety town halls.

And I think to try and obviously build support from New Mexicans to try and push lawmakers to support some of these, public safety initiatives that have not gained traction in the past.

>> Nash: Some of the Democratic lawmakers will point to we need to do more upstream solutions.

We need to do more prevention.

Is there is there a middle ground there?

>> Chacon: I guess that remains to be seen.

But what I do know is that the big focus for the Lujan Grisham administration will be on gun related crimes and really on, felons in possession of firearms, because the administration's take is that New Mexico is too soft on people that commit crimes and then re-offend.

So there's going to be a big push, to try and increase those penalties and again, really around gun related violence because what we've seen is an uptick in gun related violence involving not just adults but juveniles.

So we're also going to see an expansion or at least an effort to expand, the children's code and what it means to be a serious youthful offender.

>> Nash: What else are we seeing in terms of juvenile crime has been a top issue addressing that.

I know I saw some pre-filed bills about, juveniles in possession of guns.

Julia, any sense of what else in terms of the juvenile crime space we're looking at?

>> Goldberg: I mean, the governor's communication director, Michael Coleman, told me they are going to be proposing legislation about what it means to be a serious youthful offender.

And that there's some overlap there with, with the Republicans' agenda as well.

Adding Second-Degree murder charges for shooting for drive by shootings at cars and houses, possibly extending treatment.

The treatment period for youthful offenders.

And so all you know, what they're saying is the key metric is around recidivism, not around incarceration.

But there is some overlap with what some gang >> Nash: Recitivism being going back to jail.

>> Goldberg: Yes, trying to avoid having well, repeat offenses and repeat incarceration.

>> Nash: Competency is another place where the governor advocating for reform, and it just hasn't happened yet.

Dan, any specific proposals you're aware of and whether they could go anywhere, this time around?

And competency being, whether a judge deems a defendant competent to stand trial.

>> Boyd: Yeah.

I understand there's a harm to self bill that the governor had pushed for in past years, and it didn't gain approval.

And that'll be back this year.

My understanding is the Senate might be on board.

We'll see about the House.

And I might be a little more pessimistic.

You know, when it comes to the juvenile justice portion, push the house.

I think we saw a bill last year that, got to the Senate floor, but then Republicans opposed it because they didn't think it went far enough.

A lot of Democrats opposed it because they thought it was too harsh.

So there's some real philosophical differences when it comes to these issues.

And I'm not sure there's a clear kind of answer yet.

I guess we'll we'll find out.

>> Nash: Back to what I was aski Daniel is like, well, there might be a middle ground, but maybe there's no appetite for a middle ground, right?

Right.

>> Goldberg: and more groundwork now than there was a year ago.

>> Boyd: Yeah, I think there is.

I mean, whether there's, you know, whether they can kind of thread the needle, I guess is the question.

>> Chacon: And what's interestin to me is that this is a short session and it seemed like there is just so much on the agenda.

So and I just don't know that they're going to have the time to be able to get to everything that they want to get to.

But again, it's every session is different.

So we'll see.

We'll see what happens here.

>> Nash: Right, because whether it's on the call, whether the support is in both chambers, something's just time out.

I mean, 30 days is short and we've already been talking about a lot of stuff.

And so let's talk about when this session adjourns, What could it mean for Lujan Grisham's legacy if, if it comes and goes the session without any meaningful public safety reform?

Dan, do you want to take that?

>> Boyd: Yeah, I think, I think from her perspective, that would be a disappointment.

I know she already feels that legislators haven't, you know, taken the necessary steps to address, crime rates in New Mexico.

And, I think she still can point to a lot of things she has accomplished in her during her tenure when it comes to the opportunity scholarship, the free school meals, things like that.

I think obviously a lot of her legacy will be defined by the Covid pandemic.

And her response to that as well.

So I, I think that there will be other things she can still point to having accomplished.

But I think if there is no action on public safety bills, you know, that will go in her mind.

I think that will go down as a missed opportunity.

>> Nash: Okay.

Strategic water, that's another one that the governor has been pushing for her time and again, it hasn't happened.

This is, being her last chance to get it done.

Julia, any sense of whether she's going to put it on her call this session?

>> Goldberg: Well, in terms that I'm not expecting anything about produced water to be on her call or put into the governor's office, the strategic water supply which has been put into effect has, unprecedented budget ask in this session, more than $230 million.

>> Nash: I should clarify when I say it hasn't gotten done time and time again.

It's it was shrunk to really be just referencing to brackish water or natural.

Yeah.

Salty water reserves underground.

The piece that hasn't gotten done.

And thanks for for pointing out that nuance is that produced water, the oil and gas wastewater and how to reuse that.

>> Goldberg: They tell me, no, they don't.

They don't have any plans for it during the session.

>> Nash: Okay.

Are there other water proposals that we might expect or, funding for water?

>> Goldberg: There's a lot of water funding, I mean, a precedented that amount and a lot of support from environmental groups for there's as the executive budget, over $230 million, some of that for the 50 year water plan.

A lot of money for aquifer mapping.

It's a pretty impressive, ask that the state is going for and it has a lot of support.

>> Nash: We heard recently on this show about, water stewardship, river stewardship, could increase significantly.

Yeah, yeah.

Daniel, when we go back to the governor's legacy and to what degree?

That's up for debate in this session.

Universal child care, tuition free college.

Those are huge proposals for her.

What might it look like if those don't get fully funded?

What could it look like if those are up for debate this session?

>> Chacon: Well, Dan indicated, I think she would be, you know, obviously disappointed if that doesn't get through.

But at the same time, as you indicated, you know, she has some bragging rights and things that she's done during her tenure, whether it's the, opportunity scholarship or any other number of things.

But as it relates to child care, you know, it was under her tenure that New Mexico created the Early Childhood and Education Care Department.

We expanded access to pre-K.

We established an early childhood trust fund.

So even though there might be some disappointments in this last year of her tenure, she also can, as I indicated before, you know, she she can.

She's got some feathers in her cap as it relates to, childcare, >> Goldberg: And her office thin that there is political will, that people are behind that proposal.

It's gotten a lot of national attention and continues to it's just a question of how do you make the funding permanent so that it actually has kind of a lasting legacy.

>> Nash: And so is that is that what stands in its way?

If anything, it's the how much funding and how to make it sustainable.

>> Goldberg: Like the opportunity scholarship now has a kind of permanent funding source.

How do you, you know, can she create that for universal childcare in this in this final.

>> Boyd: And I think there's a question about some some legislators as well, whether wealthier families, you know, should qualify for state subsidized childcare.

That's something a point I've heard a few legislators bring up.

I mean, currently or up until recently, you know, the childcare assistance program was available free for a lot of families if you were under a certain income level.

And so kind of the question, maybe you should some of these wealthier families have to pay a copay or something like that.

I think there could be some kind of middle ground or a compromise there, maybe.

But I think, you know, as Daniel and Julie have indicated, some legislators are still kind of a little wary of that price tag and just kind of getting their their arms around the idea, even if they support the concept of it, >> Nash: they may support the concept, but maybe not universal for everyone.

Maybe just those who need it.

Need the support.

>> Chacon: And let's not forget that a huge, percentage of New Mexico's population already qualifies for free child care.

So this is just an expansion to those kind of 1 in 5 families that don't qualify already, who are already kind of at the upper levels of income.

So, again, free childcare is pretty much open to a huge percentage of New Mexico families already.

>> Nash: Is there any argument that, making it universal, simplifies the administration of the program?

>> Goldberg: Absolutely.

And it also acknowledges, I don't know, that it's accurate to say the only people not qualifying now are rich.

I think there is a little bit of, you know, wiggle room in there, not to mention changing circumstances.

So it just makes it that it's not that you're constantly applying or reapplying or re, you know, having to recertify your qualifications for it, etc., you just kind of have it's just exactly childcare.

>> Nash: Well, the legislative session happens just once a year.

I can't remember the last time that it just was the one regular session.

There's been a number of special sessions over the last many years.

What needs to happen so that a special session, doesn't get called?

I mean, is there any chance that a session isn't going to be called later in the year?

>> Boyd: Well, I don't think any of us want to be thinking about a special session going into a 30 day session.

But you're right that that we had two special sessions last year.

And, this governor has not been you know, bashful about calling special sessions.

You know, that said, I think the dynamics this year, after the session ends, I think a lot of attention is going to shift to the campaign season.

And obviously with, a race for governor heating up and, I think legislators will not necessarily be keen on coming back unless there is some kind of a, you know, we'll see what happens out of the federal government, unless there's some kind of a funding emergency.

I could see them, the governor calling them back to address that.

>> Nash: But they may be down for that.

>> Boyd: Right.

>> Nash: Because they're interested in filling those gaps, but maybe not so interested in coming in to get some one of her must-haves done.

>> Boyd: That would be my read.

I mean, I've learned that it's hard to predict what's going to happen, especially with that the current federal administration, there's a lot of uncertainty there.

So, so we'll see.

I've learned never to make any, you know, predictions or guarantees.

But but I would think that, if it's kind of what these legacy type issues, there might not be quite the appetite from, you know, legislators to come back for that.

>> Nash: Okay, Dan, Daniel, Julia, thank you so much.

This was super clarifying.

I think gave people a lot to consider.

Like you mentioned, Daniel, there's so much to unpack, and we just got 30 days to watch this, unfold.

So, we'll be watching, and and we look forward to all of your reporting as well.

From up in the roundhouse.

Thank you, thank you.

>> Boyd: Thanks.

>> Chacon: Thanks.

>> Nash: Another huge thank you to Daniel Chacon, Dan Boyd, and Julia Goldberg for taking the time to come down from the Capitol to help us better understand the session and to everyone who contributed to this week.

So next week, Governor Lujan Grisham will kick off the session with her annual state of the state address.

You can catch that live here on channel five and online Tuesday afternoon, then on Friday to noon for New Mexico and focus when we're going to break down the first week of action.

If you are a politics nerd like me and you want to stay up on all that's happening in Santa Fe over these next quick 30 days, check out the New Mexico InFocus newsletter.

It's going to show up in your email each Friday, nothing more.

And you can get on our list at NM pbs.org.

And if there are particular bills that you are following, the session issues that you want us to look into, put them on our radar.

This program is a public service.

We want to be sure that we are covering the issues that matter most to you.

So email Executive Producer Jeff Proctor to let us know what those are for New Mexico PBS I'm Nash Jones until next week.

Stay focused.

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