Politics

At Nuclear Deterrence Summit, Lab Directors Frame Regulatory Reform As Key To Modernization

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Lab directors Thom Mason of Los Alamos and Kimberly Budil of Lawrence Livermore discuss efforts to modernize aging nuclear infrastructure and accelerate weapons development during a panel at the Nuclear Deterrence Summit in Arlington, Va. Photo by Marlene Wilden/ladailypost.com

By MARLENE WILDEN
Los Alamos Daily Post
marlene@ladailypost.com

ARLINGTON, VA.—Appearing together at the annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, held Jan. 26-28, the directors of Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories said they are seizing an unusual window of regulatory reform to cut Read More

Bill To Strengthen Burglary Prosecutions Clears Senate

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STATE News:

SANTA FE — A bill that updates New Mexico’s burglary laws to give prosecutors clearer tools for holding criminals accountable passed the Senate today with bipartisan support. 

Senate Bill 100, sponsored by Senators Cindy Nava, Linda M. Trujillo and Rep. Andrea Romero, closes a loophole in New Mexico’s burglary law. 

A July 2018 incident illustrates the urgency of the fix and the flaw in the existing law. On the evening of July 30, 2018, a man climbed over a fence into the backyard of Robert Romero’s residence in Santa Fe and made his way onto the home’s portal—a covered porch in Read More

‘We’re Running Out Of Time’: Urgency Builds For Long-Awaited Navajo Code Talkers Museum

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By LILY ALEXANDER
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Advocates of Navajo Code Talkers — U.S. Marines in World War II who relayed critical messages in secret, unbreakable codes based on their Indigenous language — have been waiting seven years for a museum honoring the veterans.

Code Talkers themselves — only two still living — have been waiting far longer.

“They wanted to see this museum since 1971,” said Vern Lee, who serves on the board of the nonprofit Navajo Code Talkers Museum Inc. “That’s over 54 years ago.”

“And we’ve got nothing to show for it,” museum board Secretary and Treasurer Albert Damon chimed Read More

Bill Protecting State’s Clean Energy Progress Advances Out Of Senate Conservation Committee

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STATE News:

SANTA FE — Amidst one of the driest and warmest winters on record, members of the Senate Conservation Committee passed the Clear Horizons Act, legislation that gives New Mexico a responsible plan to continue reducing climate-warming pollution while protecting family budgets, growing local jobs, and preserving the state’s unique way of life.

Sponsored by Senators Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) and Angel Charley (D-Acoma), and co-sponsored in the House by Representatives Kristina Ortez (D-Taos) and Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), Senate Bill 18, codifies New Mexico’s existing Read More

New Mexico Could Be First State To Formally Address Forced Sterilization Of Native Women

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By LILY ALEXANDER
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Somewhere between 25% and 50% of Indigenous women were forcibly sterilized in the 1970s with some of the highest concentrations of procedures in New Mexico, research indicates.

Shocking as the statistics are, getting more specific data than that is tricky.

“The information gap is tremendous,” Keely Badger, a human rights advocate who has researched the issue, said Tuesday at the Roundhouse. “But there is now a global movement to bring the heinous nature of these acts, globally, to the forefront.”

New Mexico lawmakers are Read More

Gun Control Measure SB 17 Advances Through Judiciary Committee Despite Strong GOP Opposition

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NMSR News:

SANTA FE — In a flagrant disregard for the Second Amendment and the rule of law, the Senate Judiciary Committee today forced passage of Senate Bill 17 (“Stop Illegal Gun Trade Act”). This extreme measure now heads to the Senate Floor, setting the stage for a costly and inevitable legal battle that taxpayers will ultimately fund.

Sen. Crystal Brantley (R-Elephant Butte), the committee’s Ranking Member, led the opposition, dismantling the bill’s premise that targeting the rights of law-abiding citizens and small business owners will somehow deter violent crime.

“SB Read More

New Mexico House Passes $11 Billion Budget, Rejects Paying Counties With ICE Jails

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Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces
Chair
House Appropriations and Finance Committee

By ESTEBAN CANDELARIA
The Santa Fe New Mexican

At the halfway point of this year’s 30-day session, the House approved a proposed spending plan setting aside a little more than $11 billion in recurring spending with boosts in spending for a number of early childhood, health care and public safety initiatives.

House Bill 2, which currently proposes a 2.7% increase in recurring spending for the coming fiscal year, reflects an effort by legislators to make “responsible investments,” Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Read More

Legislative Roundup: 15 Days Left In Session

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Rabbi Celia Surget of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, second from right, shares a laugh with, from left, Rabbi Berel Levertov of the Santa Fe Jewish Center, Rabbi Jack Shlachter of the Los Alamos Jewish Center and Juan M. Dircie, director of the Jewish Community Relations Coalition of New Mexico, during a panel discussion as part of Jewish Community Day at the state Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Matt Dahlseid/The New Mexican

Santa Fe New Mexican Staff Report:

Shots, shots, shots: Typically, when lawmakers refer to a bill as a “simple” proposal, they’re setting themselves up for Read More

Interstate Doctor, Social Worker Compacts Head To Governor’s Desk

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By Margaret O’Hara
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A bill that would ease the process for out-of-state doctors to become licensed in the state, is headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk after final passage in the House in less than 10 minutes Tuesday. 

The governor has already signaled her support for New Mexico joining the interstate medical compact, and said in her State of the State speech that the passage of Senate Bill 1 was one of her top priorities.

“If a qualified doctor in Colorado or Texas wants to move to New Mexico and start treating patients, this bill cuts red tape and Read More

Jobs, Clean Air Clash In Emissions Debate

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By Daniel J. Chacón
The Santa Fe New Mexican

A former oil worker and current medical student, Carter Bakarich stood before state senators Tuesday and implored them to take action for the health of his future patients.

“Pollution from carbon fuels brings devastating costs to our communities,” Bakarich told the Senate Conservation Committee during a marathon public hearing on a contentious proposal to put New Mexico’s existing pollution reduction goals into state statute.

The health of New Mexico residents and its economic prosperity collided during more than five hours of Read More