SANTA FE, N.M. — The 30-day legislative session may be over, but New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made it clear during a news conference Thursday that a special session on public safety is not off the table.

The governor said only five public safety initiatives made it to her desk. That includes a 7-day waiting period for gun sales, banning guns at polling places statewide, increasing sentences for attempted murder charges, allowing more retired state workers to fill open public safety positions, and a plan to keep certain repeat offenders behind bars.

Lujan Grisham specifically highlighted that last one, which flew through the Roundhouse at the last minute. It will require courts to keep suspects in jail if they are arrested for committing a felony while on pretrial release. It’s not the pretrial detention solution the governor wanted, but she knows it was a heavy lift for lawmakers and believes it will have an impact on the so-called revolving door.

There were many public safety bills that were not a success this session. The governor backed several other gun control proposals, including an assault weapons ban and increasing penalties for felons caught with firearms.

On Thursday, the governor suggested the one bill she really wanted lawmakers to approve would rework how the courts determine a suspect’s competency – even allowing judges to mandate behavioral health treatments. The governor specifically connected it to the recent killing of a Las Cruces police officer.

“Officer Hernandez was fatally attacked by a repeat offender who, based on the information we all have, had a mental illness, and a drug abuse, substance abuse problem,” Lujan Grisham said. “Individuals need both our help for treatment, but they also need to be in a system that can be accountable in the context of keeping everybody else safe.”

The governor knows approving a criminal competency bill will be another big ask for lawmakers, just like tackling pretrial detention. She suggested Thursday she’s not giving up on rebuttable presumption, which is what the feds do with their suspects.

RESPONSE FROM LAWMAKERS

KOB 4 spoke with Republican and Democratic lawmakers about the public safety aspect of this session.

Republicans, overall, said any type of gun restriction legislation impedes Second Amendment rights. But Democrats are proud of the two efforts that did make it to the governor’s desk.

Those include a bill to ban guns at polling places, with some exceptions. But the bill Democrats are most proud of is passing a mandatory seven-day waiting period when buying a gun.

“I’ve always said there is not a silver bullet to fix public safety, it’s an all-of-the-above approach that includes penalty enhancements where they are needed, and I’m proud this House was able to deliver that up to the governor,” House Speaker Javier Martinez said. “Andrea Romero passed the seven-day waiting period for firearms, that’s a big deal.”

Republican lawmakers said they didn’t believe they were addressing the root of public safety problems.

“It’s unfortunate to me that in a state that’s so ridden with crime, that we make a priority of making a petty misdemeanor out of carrying a firearm at a polling place,” House Minority Leader Ryan Lane said. “That should tell you all what you need to know about the seriousness of the crime legislation that the Democrats pushed forward this session.”

Republicans say the state needs to be tackling mental health treatment and holding career criminals in jail. Legislation addressing those issues did not gain any ground this session.

Overall, more than 600 bills were introduced this year, and many of them never got to that first step of being hard in committee.

POTENTIAL FOR SPECIAL SESSION

Gov. Lujan Grisham said a special session to tackle public safety legislation is not off the table. She did not share a potential timeline for that, if she ends up calling one.

KOB 4 asked the governor if she thinks legislators are closer to adopting more of her public safety requests – she said yes.