Impending winter storm cancels committee hearing

The sky darkened above the state Capitol building on Jan. 23, 2026, ahead of a forecast winter storm that made for a quiet Friday afternoon at the Legislature. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)

As debate in the New Mexico Senate dragged on Friday afternoon, staff members of the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee addressed the crowd in a committee room with an apologetic tone: Committee Chairwoman Sen. Linda López (D-Albuquerque) was concerned about the impending winter storm creating dangerous road conditions, they said, so the hearing on several bills would be postponed to Monday.

Frequently during Senate debates, lawmakers recalled the impending storm to justify an early adjournment.

That hasn’t stopped some, like Sen. Jay Block (R-Rio Rancho), from engaging in debates over the bills on the Senate floor. Senate Bill 2which would fund statewide highway infrastructure projects, in part through increased registration fees for passenger vehicles, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. It would also allow the National Transportation Commission to issue bonds to finance road projects.

“Adding fees and taxes on businesses, who are going to pass that on to consumers – I hear about affordability from those on the left all the time. In fact, you’re just making things worse with this bill,” Block said during debate on the bill, which passed 31-9 with amendments.

Among the bills the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee was expected to discuss include Senate Bill 6which aims to spend nearly $547 million on the new University of New Mexico medical school, and Senate Bill 8which would inject $650 million into the state’s Behavioral Health Trust Fund. The fund was signed into law after the 2025 legislative session to rebuild the state’s behavioral health system.

The Medical Compact bill is moving forward

New Mexico moved closer to reaching an interstate medical compact Friday afternoon.

The state Senate voted 40-0 to pass it. Senate Bill 1the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Act. The bill aims to alleviate the state’s shortage of healthcare workers by making it easier for licensed professionals from other states to practice in New Mexico.

“This is a big step forward,” Sen. Rex Wilson (R-Ancho) said on the Senate floor. After expressing his support, he told his fellow senators that the bill was not a panacea for the many healthcare challenges facing the State. “It doesn’t replace the big problem we need to address in terms of overhauling our malpractice laws.”

His Republican colleagues shared Wilson’s sentiment.

“Make no mistake, we are far from truly achieving our goals for New Mexicans,” Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington) said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “If we fail to reform our state’s medical malpractice laws, New Mexico will continue to drive health care providers out of our state.

Reading bill moves forward

On Friday, members of the Senate Education Committee advances the Quality Literacy Actwhich would build on the state’s structured literacy requirements in public schools. Senate Bill 37sponsored by State Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) and Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque), was approved by the Legislative Education Study Committee. Stewart told the committee that the bill builds on the work the Department of Public Education has done in recent years to improve literacy rates and “attempts to lay out a framework for helping everyone learn to read in our public schools.”

Suicide Awareness Day

Most of New Mexico recent health data shows a 9% increase in suicide deaths in 2024. Rosella Sanchez, director of community and stakeholder relations for the state’s 988 crisis line, said she wants more New Mexicans to understand their options for free resources. The 988 telephone line is a free and confidential resource for people in mental health crisis.

“It’s for anyone, anytime, any struggle. It’s not just for suicidal thoughts, anyone can call, no matter what situation they’re going through,” she told Source NM. “There is no judgment, no shame.”

Sanchez offered resources in the Roundhouse rotunda as part of the Legislature’s “Suicide Awareness Day.” The line has reached more than 80,000 New Mexicans, she said.

The state revamped the 988 hotline in 2022 following the federal government’s passage of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which funded the resource for mental health, substance use or suicidal crises. In addition to the phone number, the NMConnect app allows text messaging and provides videos and links to local resources.

The New Mexico Access and Crisis Line, which responds to 988 calls made in New Mexico, offers counseling, Sanchez said, as well as links to resources for alcohol or substance abuse. Additionally, there is a peer-to-peer helpline to provide a “non-crisis, listening ear line,” she said.

Looking to the future

After a busy first week of the legislature, the rooms of the Roundhouse were noticeably less lively on Friday morning.

Source NM planned to cover the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee hearing Friday afternoon and will keep an eye on legislation related to UNM’s new medical school and Behavioral Health Trust Fund when they are discussed next week.

Also early next week, the House Education Committee will consider Parliamentary Bill 47which would change insurance premiums for public and charter schools across the state, and Parliamentary Bill 24known as the “Professional Recruitment and Retention Act,” which would help licensed professionals, including nurses and dentists, purchase homes.

The House Judiciary Committee will also consider a a multitude of invoices linked to the conclusion of interstate contracts for approved professionals.

Later this week, the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee plans to hear the “Green Amendment,” a proposed amendment to the state constitution to enshrine the right to “clean and healthy air, water, soil and environment.” House Joint Resolution 3 is sponsored by Democratic Reps. Joanne Ferrary (Las Cruces), Joseph Franklin Hernandez (Shiprock) and Patricia Roybal Caballero and Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, both of Albuquerque. If passed, voters will vote on the constitutional amendment in the next general election.

This is the sixth grade lawmakers have introduced similar legislation.