SANTA FE, N.M. — State lawmakers only have one week to get public safety proposals across the finish line. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham outlined nearly two dozen initiatives she wanted to get done this session.

GUNS

A proposed 7-day waiting period for firearm sales is potentially just one vote away from the governor’s desk. A Senate committee added an exception for concealed carry holders Wednesday night before sending the legislation down to the Senate floor.

A bill banning guns at polling places is also near the finish line. It still has to clear the House Judiciary Committee before reaching the House floor for a final vote.

Those bills have the best chance of becoming law. Several other gun control proposals are sitting at the halfway point – including a proposed assault weapons ban, raising the age limit to purchase some guns to 21, expanding the so-called Red Flag Law, and the Firearm Industry Accountability Act. However, many of those are collecting dust while waiting for debate.

Proposals to increase penalties for felons caught with firearms and a bill banning guns at playgrounds are still near the starting point, so it might be too late for them to gain any momentum.

PRETRIAL DETENTION

A governor-backed rebuttable presumption bill – which would have ensured some violent suspects are held in jail before trial – was essentially shot down by Democrats in its first hearing. Then a workaround proposal to keep certain repeat offenders behind bars was introduced just last week.

“What occurred to me was, well, let’s write a bill that forces a conversation when somebody is out on conditions of release for a felony, they get arrested again, for another felony,” said. Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto. “Let’s force that conversation, not with the new judge, who may not have a choice in the matter, but with the judges on the previous cases, where the constitutional provisions don’t apply.”

However, that proposal was tabled by the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday night – effectively squashing any pretrial detention for this year.

That committee is a bottleneck for many public safety bills – like legislation to outlaw hazing, restrict panhandling, increase murder sentences, and allow courts to mandate behavioral health treatments. Proposals to expand New Mexico’s racketeering law, update DWI operations, and target repeat burglars were also stopped there.

If those proposals make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, they would still need to go through more committees and a floor vote just to make it to the halfway point.

For more information on public safety legislation at the Roundhouse, check out Tracker 4.