Behavioral health bills a priority during 60-day legislative session
SANTA FE, N.M. – Anyone who has followed the legislative session before knows it can be a little slow in these first few weeks, but that’s not the plan this year.
House and Senate leaders say their behavioral health bills are ready to go, and they’re not risking running out of time.
“Whether it’s alcoholism, whether it’s drug addiction, we’ve all known somebody. The question for New Mexicans is how hard has it been to find a reliable resource for that loved one? And the answer is, it’s very hard, right? Because the system itself, it has not caught up with the times and the needs of the times,” said Speaker of the House Rep. Javier Martinez.
State lawmakers have already introduced three bills to meet those needs, including a $150 million investment for immediate infrastructure development like housing and clinics, a new behavioral health trust fund, and a plan to establish regional behavioral health districts.
“We call it the guard rails bill. It’s creating regional plans. It’s creating the oversight to make sure that this money there’s accountability, and that we actually have proper guard rails as the money goes out, to make sure it’s getting where it’s needed to go,” said Senate Floor Majority Leader Sen. Peter Wirth.
That accountability is crucial. Legislative analysts revealed in 2024 the state has only spent 10% of the $424 million already invested into behavioral health.
“I mean, that amount of money sitting around, not getting used is just unreal,” said state Sen. George Muñoz in November 2024.
Wirth says the courts are playing a big role in these behavioral health initiatives, along with complimentary proposals to reform New Mexico’s criminal competency laws.
“We are rebuilding this system. About 10 years ago, it was pretty well dismantled, and so you’ve got to go back in and kind of start from the ground up. And I think the desire of the Legislature has been to use our court system to do that,” Wirth said.
First, they need to agree on the blueprints.
“You’re really seeing the culmination of a lot of research, a lot of hard conversations and community, a lot of deep exploration of, how do we rebuild this system in the way that works for New Mexicans,” said House Floor Leader Rep. Renna Sczepanski.
Legislative leaders say the plan is to let the Senate tackle those behavioral health bills first while the House works on those public safety bills, including that criminal competency reform.
It’s a “work smarter, not harder” strategy that will hopefully kick into high gear early next week.