Senate Panel Approves Bills To Bar Feds From Sending Troops And ICE To Polls In New Mexico
By LILY ALEXANDER
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Two bills aimed at shielding New Mexico’s elections from federal action — particularly the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to the polls — are making their way through the New Mexico Senate.
The measures, which cleared the Senate Rules Committee on party-line votes Wednesday morning, would make it a felony in New Mexico for federal troops to be deployed to polling places and ban the carrying of firearms at polling places in most cases, building on a ban on guns at polling places passed in 2024.
“The Constitution reserves to Read More
County Offices To Close On Presidents’ Day
COUNTY News:
In observance of Presidents’ Day, Los Alamos County offices and services will join other federal, state, and local governments and close Monday, Feb. 16.
The County’s administrative offices, Atomic City Transit service, and the Environmental Services division will close on Monday.
Additional facilities that will close or have modified hours:
- White Rock and Mesa libraries – Open 1-5 p.m.
- Aquatic Center – Main Pool and Leisure Lagoon Open 1-5 p.m.
- Los Alamos County Ice Rink – Open 12-5 p.m.
- Golf Course and Golf Shop – Closed
- Utilities will be closed for regular business, however
State Senate Shoots Down Bill Codifying Emissions Goals In New Mexico
Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, sponsor of the Clear Horizons Act, which would codify emission reduction targets, defends the bill during a debate on the state Senate floor Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. Nathan Burton/The New MexicanBy DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A contentious proposal to put New Mexico’s pollution reduction goals into state statute went up in smoke Wednesday.
The New Mexico Senate on Wednesday rejected Senate Bill 18, known as the Clear Horizons Act, on a 19-23 vote. Seven Democrats joined all their Republican colleagues in voting against Read More
Luján, Scott Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Develop, Demonstrate, And Deploy Technologies To Accelerate Nuclear Waste Cleanup
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) introduced the Combining Laboratory Expertise to Accelerate Novel Solutions for Minimizing Accumulated Radioactive Toxins (CLEAN SMART) Act.
This legislation would build on the success of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship (NNLEMS) to accelerate nuclear waste cleanup.
The CLEAN SMART Act would codify and properly fund NNLEMS to leverage the best available science and technology of the nation’s national Read More
LAPS Seeks Nominations For 2026 NMSBA Excellence In Student Achievement Award
LAPS News:
The Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) is accepting nominations from the community for the 2026 New Mexico School Board Association’s (NMSBA) Excellence in Student Achievement Award.
The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
The NMSBA Excellence in Student Achievement Awards are presented to individuals selected by local boards of education throughout New Mexico who have played an important role in improving student achievement in their local school district.
Nominees may include administrators, teachers, staff members, parents, community members or Read More
Los Alamos County Publishes FY2025 Popular Annual Financial Report, Winning 12th Consecutive National Award For Outstanding Achievement
County News:
Los Alamos County’s FY2025 Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) has been published. The County’s PAFR has won the national Award for Outstanding Achievement for the last 12 consecutive years from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).
The GFOA’s mission is to advance excellence in public finance, and it established the PAFR Program in 1991 to encourage and assist state and local governments to extract information from their annual comprehensive financial report to produce high quality popular annual financial reports, specifically designed to be readily Read More
Think New Mexico: New Scandal From The Dark Money Group Opposing Medical Malpractice Reform
From Think New Mexico:
Since the session began, New Mexicans like you have sent 10,879 emails to your legislators and the governor through Think New Mexico’s Action Center, with more than half of those urging lawmakers to reform the state’s malpractice laws.
Last night, New Mexico InDepth reported that the dark money group fighting malpractice reforms has been delivering emails to legislators that appear to be from their constituents expressing opposition to House Bill 99 – but when legislators reached out to respond, their constituents said they had never sent those Read More
New Mexico Republicans Push For Ban On Using SNAP For Soda, Candy
By Margaret O’Hara
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Republican state senators have introduced legislation that would restrict shoppers from spending federal food aid on sodas and candy.
Senate Bill 186 takes a page out of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again playbook, with both U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. encouraging states to remove sugary foods from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility.
Some of New Mexico’s neighboring states — including states with Read More
FBI: Convicted Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty Mid-Trial To Methamphetamine Trafficking
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — After one day of trial testimony, an Albuquerque woman pleaded guilty to methamphetamine trafficking.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, May 18, 2023, the FBI Violent Gang Task Force executed a search warrant at the northeast Albuquerque residence of Nora Baca, 67. During the search, agents located approximately three pounds of methamphetamine in the bedroom of Baca’s housemate and codefendant.
Sept. 10, 2024, following an investigation into a significant intergang drug trafficking conspiracy involving both incarcerated and non-incarcerated Read More
House Passes Bill To Crack Down On Violent Armed Felons
STATE News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to strengthen penalties for convicted violent felons who possess firearms illegally, sending House Bill 49 to the Senate in a bipartisan show of support for public safety.
The legislation, approved on a 54-9 vote, increases the penalty for firearm possession by a serious violent felon from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, punishable by up to nine years in prison — three years more than current law allows.
“Raising the penalty for serious violent felons who flout the law by possessing Read More
