{"id":48436,"date":"2026-01-23T09:15:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=48436"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:27:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T00:27:57","slug":"the-2026-legislative-session-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/the-2026-legislative-session-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 Legislative Session Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"pbs-viral-player-wrapper\" style=\"position: relative; padding-top: calc(56.25% + 43px);\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.pbs.org\/viralplayer\/3107763324\/\" allowfullscreen allow=\"encrypted-media\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This week on New Mexico in Focus,&nbsp;we head to Santa Fe for the start of this year\u2019s 30-day legislative session.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In her final State of the State address, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham acknowledged the work done by Sen. Peter Wirth. The Senate Majority Leader is working to quickly pass several measures during the first week of the session, including several medical compact bills and a change to the state&#8217;s civil commitment law. Host Nash Jones spoke with Wirth in his Roundhouse office about the so-called \u201crocket docket.\u201d Also, Jones asks where Wirth stands on a few high-profile proposals, including Senate Democrats&#8217; shift to supporting a ban on ICE contracts for immigrant prisons in our state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Republican Sen. Nicole Tobiassen sat on a bipartisan working group that prepared medical compact legislation for the session and is a co-sponsor of a Senate proposal to join the compacts. Tobiassen spoke with Nash about that push, New Mexico&#8217;s doctor shortage and her first-hand experience failing to find medical treatment for her husband.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Capital and Main reporter Jerry Redfern speaks with Missi Currier, president and CEO of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. Currier tells Jerry which bills she\u2019s keeping an eye on this year. Also, following years of ill-fated bills that sought tougher regulations on her industry, Jerry asks why during last year&#8217;s session she said the oil and gas industry was &#8220;out of favor&#8221; in New Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Host:&nbsp;Nash Jones<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Segments:&nbsp;<br><em>NM Sen. Wirth on the Legislative \u2018Rocket Docket\u2019<\/em>&nbsp;<br>Correspondent:&nbsp;Nash Jones&nbsp;<br>Guest:&nbsp;NM Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe; Senate Majority Leader&nbsp;<br><br><em>NM Sen. Tobiassen on Addressing the State\u2019s Doctor Shortage<\/em>&nbsp;<br>Correspondent:&nbsp;Nash Jones&nbsp;<br>Guest:&nbsp;NM Sen. Nicole Tobiassen, R-Albuquerque&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Oil and Gas Bills the Industry is Watching Out For <\/em>&nbsp;<br>Correspondent:&nbsp;Jerry Redfern&nbsp;<br>Guest:&nbsp;Missi Currier, President and CEO, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>NM Sen. Wirth on Bill Banning State Contracts with ICE<\/em>&nbsp;<br>Correspondent:&nbsp;Nash Jones&nbsp;<br>Guest:&nbsp;NM Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe; Senate Majority Leader&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week on New Mexico in Focus,&nbsp;we head to Santa Fe for the start of this year\u2019s 30-day legislative session.&nbsp; In her final State of the State address, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham acknowledged the work done by Sen. Peter Wirth. The Senate Majority Leader is working to quickly pass several measures during the first week&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":48438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episode"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The 2026 Legislative Session Begins - New Mexico In Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/the-2026-legislative-session-begins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 2026 Legislative Session Begins - New Mexico In Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This week on New Mexico in Focus,&nbsp;we head to Santa Fe for the start of this year\u2019s 30-day legislative session.&nbsp; In her final State of the State address, Gov. 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