New Mexico's investment in public lands has made it “the envy of much of the West," U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said to a packed Roundhouse crowd Friday afternoon.

As the midpoint of the session just passed, legislation is beginning to cross over from one chamber to the other. Lawmakers have introduced nearly 700 bills this session.

New legislation marks the latest chapter in ongoing clashes between environmentalists and industry, as well as the governor’s longstanding legislative efforts to expand the use of produced water, which is extremely salty and poses challenges for treatment.

The bill would subject families whose pre-tax household income is more than 600% but less than 900% of the federal poverty level to child care co-pays under certain conditions, like a decline on the average price of some crude oil. Enrollment numbers and slowed revenue growth could lead to co-pays.

Shortly after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed new bills into law, hecklers outside the Roundhouse took aim at a Las Cruces lawmaker's support for the proposed Project Jupiter data center complex.

“This early in the session, getting legislation passed is hard, even with an interim and years of work,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at the signing. “I am proud of the Legislature. They don’t need that, but I think the public needs to know that they are getting incredible things done.”

The Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon claims office has not moved on the State of New Mexico's $445 million claim. The governor is getting ready to sue.

House Bill 2, known as the budget bill, represents a “measured” increase in recurring spending of nearly $295 million, Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), who chairs the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, told reporters Wednesday morning ahead of the vote.

In the immortal words of Big Time Rush, “We’re halfway there,” folks. For readers 40 and older, take Swedish band Europe’s admonition: “It’s the final countdown.”

The Torrance County Commission chair tells Source he will continue extending ICE detention agreements until state law requires the county to stop doing so. sourcenm.com/2026/02/04/t...

The House of Representatives swiftly and unanimously approved Senate Bill 1, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Act, sending it to the governor. Hearings on the Senate floor, though, were not as speedy.

“Filing day” festivities kept the third floor of the North Capitol annex buzzing with candidates and staff members coming and going. See Source's photos here: buff.ly/t4xLvY0

New Mexico Department of Health investigators have been unable to detect the precise cause of the Listeria infection which killed the infant, but said unpasteurized milk the infant’s mother drank during pregnancy was the “most likely source.”

A spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tells Source NM she plans to sign it into law.

New Mexico U.S. Rep. Leger Fernández joined the rally outside ICE headquarters in D.C. and said she would not vote to fund the agency until "we see real reforms."

Committee chair votes ‘yes’ despite past opposition to similar bills.

Lawmakers on Monday reviewed a roughly $11 billion budget and the possibility of 45-day legislative sessions.

Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima will run as an independent he said, just ahead of the deadline to get on the ballot. That leaves former U.S. Interior Secretary and New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman to vie for the Democratic nomination.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday became the latest high-ranking official to call on the director of a multi-billion-dollar compensation fund for wildfire victims to resign, following revelations last week that he accepted a six-figure payout for his own claims. buff.ly/bsYb3j1

“I have deep fears about what’s going to go on now,” publisher Bob Zollinger said, “with the Independent not looking over things.” buff.ly/HUGIEAY

Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation on Friday called on the federal official overseeing a multi-billion dollar wildfire compensation fund to resign, following Source NM’s reporting this week that the official had applied for and received a six-figure payout. buff.ly/3HbfAbE

The demonstration was the largest in a series of local recent protests against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in Minnesota, and the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both 37, by immigration agents.

As lawmakers on the floor of the NM House debated an ICE detention ban, Santa Fe Prep student Stella Schriber joined friends outside the Roundhouse in a growing crowd. Passing drivers honked while her friend held a hand-painted sign: “No decent human has a heart made of ICE.”

A medical malpractice reform bill backed by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham cleared its first hurdle in a Friday morning House committee hearing after an “unfriendly amendment” rankled Republicans.

Recent floods, fires, National Guard deployments and other emergencies have caused friction between the Legislature and governor about her authority to spend hundreds of millions of dollars without their approval. buff.ly/3ei43Sh

Two criminal justice bills backed by NM Gov. Lujan Grisham have been tabled, prompting one GOP lawmaker to ask the gov to call a special public safety session (again).

One-third of the way through the session, budget talks draw near.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports a legislative push to ban 287(g) agreements, which entail local officials sending inmates at local jails into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, a spokesperson told Source New Mexico on Thursday. buff.ly/0m2qWph

As New Mexico lawmakers in both major political parties propose reforms to the state’s medical malpractice laws, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office has backed a measure that would set a cap on punitive damages increase the standard of proof needed to award them.

The New Mexico Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee voted 6-4 along party lines to advance a bill that would ban the sale of certain guns and require firearms dealers to maintain thorough records of every gun they’ve sold. State GOP leaders call the measure "unconstitutional."

The Republican ‘affordability’ agenda and changes to the ICE detention ban bill took center stage Wednesday.

Lawmakers have been focused on Gallup-McKinley County Schools' finances since December, when New Mexico Public Education Department Secretary Mariana Padilla informed them of a $35 million shortfall in her agency’s budget.

NEW: The FEMA official in charge of a multi-billion-dollar compensation fund for Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire victims and his wife personally received more than $500,000 in fund payments for smoke damage and business losses, according to documents Source and NM PBS obtained. buff.ly/tobJRCU

NM lawmakers behind the Immigrant Safety Act amended the bill yesterday to also prohibit "287(g) agreements," which allow police to send inmates at local jails into ICE custody. The governor has not yet said whether she supports lawmakers taking up the issue this 30-day session. buff.ly/k7R1JB9

Lawmakers called on each other and the governor to advance measures relating to health care, digital data privacy and ‘microgrid’ energy systems. buff.ly/dKwNEOM

A committee of New Mexico lawmakers OK'd a bill to replace federal funding for a program to buy local food from farmers and ranchers and provide it to New Mexican food banks. The bill would need a line in the budget and approval from both houses before being made law.

All three of NM's U.S. representatives are on the list.

The New Mexico Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee on Monday unanimously advanced a bill allocating $547 million for a new University of New Mexico School of Medicine, something Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham labeled a priority in her final State of the State address. buff.ly/m89MIpB

The New Mexico House Judiciary Committee on Monday quickly passed legislation that would enter the state into seven health care worker compacts, part of lawmakers’ effort to pass as many compact bills as possible despite Senate opposition. sourcenm.com/briefs/anoth...

Days after federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, New Mexico Democrats on Monday morning said they’ll continue to protect immigrants across the state. One representative called on the governor to demand an end to all ICE operations. buff.ly/HZ4DFcW

The countdown has begun. The countdown has begun. buff.ly/vgx61Ur

Immigrant advocacy groups and residents from across New Mexico urged movement on House Bill 9, to prohibit local and state government entities from entering into agreements to detain people accused of federal immigration violations.

A rally for New Mexico's Immigrant and Workers Day of Action is underway at the Roundhouse in the aftermath of the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minnesota. We'll have coverage at sourcenm.com Photo by Danielle Prokop.

Homan is expected to be in Minnesota by evening.

From our colleagues at the Minnesota Reformer.

In a 40-0 vote, lawmakers see a "first step" to address New Mexico’s health care worker shortage.

As debate on the Senate floor ran long, lawmakers looked to outrun the storm.

A New Mexico GOP senator announced Friday he asked AG Pam Bondi and the federal Department of Justice to “engage” or “intervene” in New Mexico as the Legislature moves toward passing a bill prohibiting public entities from contracting with federal agencies for immigrant detention. buff.ly/0RWtDD8

“We have worked so hard for the last four to five years with the governor, with the Public Education Department, on improving our literacy rates, and they’re going up….We are starting to see real gains." — New Mexico Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart.

“I am quite certain, based on looking at that report and looking at other facts, that there is fraud and misrepresentation that is rampant in the program that’s got to be addressed,” said Sen. James Townsend (R-Artesia). buff.ly/NO3Tb47