NM governor to hold statewide public safety town halls

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to hold a public town hall in Las Cruces to discuss public safety Thursday, July 25, 2024 at the Las Cruces Convention Center.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will hold the first in a series of town halls on public safety this week in Las Cruces following what she described as a “disappointing” special legislative session.

State legislators met for only five hours July 18, with a directive from Lujan Grisham to pass several public safety laws.

Instead, lawmakers approved just House Bill 1 , which will provide an additional $100 million in monetary assistance to people affected by the South Fork and Salt fires in the Ruidoso area. The bill also provided $3 million for outpatient treatment pilot programs facilitated by the Administrative Office of the Court.

Additional public safety town halls planned by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham

Monday, July 29
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Albuquerque
CNM Main Campus
Smith Brasher Hall
717 University Blvd. SE

Tuesday, July 30
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Espańola
Northern New Mexico College Event Center
921 N. Paseo De Onate

Both legislative chambers adjourned sine die almost immediately after unanimously passing House Bill 1.

“This first special session of the 56th Legislature could have been handled in an email,” said Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Roswell) of the unanimous vote on wildfire relief.

Other lawmakers said Lujan Grisham’s proposals needed more time to craft, and that the legislation they did pass is the first step to meeting her goals.

“From that vantage point, in my opinion, we did move the ball considerably further than it’s ever been moved on these issues,” House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) said in a press conference after the special session.

Lujan Grisham disagreed.

“ The legislature should be embarrassed at their inability to summon even an ounce of courage to adopt common-sense legislation to make New Mexicans safer,” Lujan Grisham said in response to the brief session. “This was one of the most disappointing days of my career, and the public should be outraged.”

Sine die hard with a vengeance

The governor’s office announced the Las Cruces town hall on Monday, adding that it will be followed by similar public meetings around the state in the “near future.” Tuesday morning, meetings in Albuquerque and Española were added for next week.

Thursday’s town hall is open to the public and will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. It will also be live streamed from the governor’s Facebook page .

“The town hall in Las Cruces this Thursday is an opportunity to hear directly from New Mexicans grappling with the state’s crime problem and collaborate as a community on effective strategies to enhance public safety statewide,” Lujan Grisham’s office said.

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