Rep. Liz Thomson

By NATHAN BROWN
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A bill requiring state-funded colleges and universities to adopt “trauma-informed policies and … responses” in investigating sexual assault and domestic violence allegations is headed to the state Senate.

The House voted 44-17 a little after 3 a.m. Sunday to pass House Bill 151, with all the Democrats present in favor and the Republicans split. Sponsored by Rep. Liz Thomson, D-Albuquerque and several other Democrats, it would require all such sexual assault and violence policies to include an “affirmative consent standard” and to confirm that it is the responsibility of all parties involved in sexual activity to ensure they have “the affirmative consent of all other parties.”

“Ensuring that everyone at our higher education institutions understands the importance of clear, affirmative consent can help prevent sexual assault before it occurs,” Thomson said in a statement after the vote. “This bill also ensures that allegations of sexual assault and misconduct will be thoroughly investigated, and victims will have access to critical health, mental, and legal services.”

Versions of the bill have passed the House before but have not yet become law; last year’s effort made it out of that chamber but died in the Senate. Thomson, who also sponsored last year’s measure, changed this year’s legislation to cover only colleges and universities, instead of also addressing public schools as former versions did.

Republicans expressed a mix of concerns about the bill during the early morning debate. Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, a former prosecutor, worried about how college administrative procedures could affect a criminal case. Rep. Mark Duncan, R-Farmington, proposed an amendment that would have required colleges and universities to report any crimes that fall under the bill to police; Thomson said such a policy would be a violation of the federal Title IX law, and Duncan ended up withdrawing the amendment.