{"id":48021,"date":"2025-10-10T16:23:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T23:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=48021"},"modified":"2025-10-10T16:23:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T23:23:13","slug":"gov-lujan-grisham-weighs-in-on-the-special-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/gov-lujan-grisham-weighs-in-on-the-special-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Lujan Grisham Weighs in on the Special Session"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The governor and Legislature are co-equal branches of the state government. So, they don\u2019t always see eye-to-eye, which in terms of their roles of checking and balancing one another isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing. Unlike last year\u2019s special legislative session on public safety, where legislative Democrats adjourned in the matter of hours as a means of rebuffing Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham\u2019s proposals, the Dems in both branches were mostly on the same page in last week\u2019s two-day session.
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State House Speaker Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque) called the cooperation between his caucus and the executive ahead of the session a \u201cgreat partnership,\u201d clearly getting the proposals that passed pretty well baked before he gaveled the session in. \u00a0

The Legislature passed five Democratic bills that Lujan Grisham had called for, all of which she\u2019s now signed. All six bills the Republicans filed sat unheard, though some of them aligned with the governor\u2019s priorities that Democrats didn\u2019t take up, such as reforming criminal competency and medical malpractice, and joining an interstate physician licensure compact.\u00a0

Because the House went late into the afternoon airing grievances, Lujan Grisham didn\u2019t have time to deliver her customary reflection on the session in a press event. So, we tracked her down in her Santa Fe office this week to get her thoughts and share them with you. \u00a0

She agreed with Speaker Martinez that her office and legislative Democrats worked well together.\u00a0

\u201cThe most valuable thing, in addition to solving problems, that we could do is for the vast majority of us to be on the same page… So we agreed well in advance what would be on the agenda,\u201d she said. \u00a0

The bulk of the bills\u00a0aimed to fill emerging federal funding gaps from\u00a0the GOP reconciliation bill (the so-called \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill.\u201d) I asked her how long New Mexico can prop up these programs with state dollars. \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the money socked away in the state\u2019s reserve accounts is plentiful, unlike many other states staring down federal cuts, how it can be spent is tightly restricted. If it weren\u2019t, she said, \u201cIf we wanted to cover every lost federal fund, we could frankly do it for a couple of years.\u201d \u00a0

But, \u201cthat\u2019s not a sustainable practice,\u201d Lujan Grisham said. \u201cThere is no state in America that can shore up their health care system without Congress coming to its senses.” \u00a0

Following a postmortem of the special session, we dug into the work left to do. The regular, 30-day session coming up in January will be the last for the\u00a0two-term governor. So, I asked what she needs to see taken up in that session before she leaves office. \u00a0

\u201cExpect more public safety, expect more targeted behavioral health, expect more accountability for all populations, and penalties… There are plenty more things that just didn\u2019t get enough attention in the 60-day,\u201d she said. \u00a0

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in a 10-mile hole, and I got us to only three miles \u2014 I\u2019m (actually) going to use one mile \u2014 we\u2019re one mile from the surface, and the feds do us no favors,\u201d she said, \u201cstay the course.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hear more from Lujan Grisham in our exclusive interview with the governor tonight at 7 p.m. on NMPBS and the PBS app. Find an extended version on the NMiF YouTube channel<\/a>. \u00a0

-Nash Jones, Host<\/p>\n\n\n

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