ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Combatting New Mexico’s crime problem was supposed to be a major focus during this year’s legislative session.

While state lawmakers did send the governor a public safety package, not a single bill directly addressing juvenile crime made it across the finish line.

The governor said she was willing to call a special session to address the juvenile crime problem, and they’re still happening behind closed doors. 

The governor told KOB 4 Tuesday she’s meeting with legislative leaders to figure out a path forward, considering how messy 2024’s special session was. 

Lawmakers adjourned in just a few hours, after refusing to rush through the governor’s criminal competency reform bill. Without some type of game plan ahead of time, it’s safe to assume that’s what would happen during a juvenile justice-focused special session.

“We’ve not really addressed the juvenile code and the Children’s Code for a long time here, and so that’s something that does need to be worked through. And I appreciate certainly the governor’s passion and desire to move this forward and I think that is a good direction, but something that we’ll certainly visit with our team in the Senate and the House will talk about and kind of see where that goes,” said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth.

Legislative leaders suggest they’d rather spend the summer and fall working through a comprehensive juvenile justice form bill, and hit the ground running during next year’s session. But the governor insists that’s just too long to wait.

“It’s between three and four days a week. I have a teenager with a near fatal shooting situation every week. I don’t know how you wait. How many victims is that a week?” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “We do not have a body of law that takes these issues into consideration, and we must.” 

So it seems a special session is still up in the air, but state lawmakers got to work on that competency bill after 2024’s failed special session, and got it across the finish line in just a few weeks this year.

The governor is still working through all the other bills lawmakers approved this year, and she only has until Friday to sign those bills.