Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham held the first of three planned public safety town hall meetings in Las Cruces on Thursday to promote her special session legislative agenda despite Democrats in the legislature saying her bills have substantive issues. Lujan Grisham took the stage flanked by Doña Ana District Attorney Gerald Byers, Las Cruces Police Chief […] The post MLG public safety town hall draws crowd first appeared on NM Political Report ..read more

Data indicates Vice President Kamala Harris could excite the Democratic base around the issue of abortion in a way that President Joe Biden struggled to get the message across. Harris, the presumptive nominee for the Democratic ticket for president, has been the voice for reproductive rights under the Biden administration. KFF, a health policy research […] The post Harris could excite Democratic voters on reproductive health first appeared on NM Political Report ..read more

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission approved a stipulated agreement which is expected to result in a rate increase for customers.  The stipulated agreement is between New Mexico Gas Company and various consumer and environmental advocates. The gas utility initially asked for the ability to collect nearly $49 million in additional revenue from customers. The […] The post PRC approves NM Gas Co. rate increase agreement first appeared on NM Political Report ..read more

Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced on Sunday her intention to replace President Joe Biden as the presidential Democratic nominee, received immediate support from a few reproductive rights groups and picked up a third endorsement from a reproductive rights group on Wednesday.  The reproductive rights group, Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice, endorsed Harris on Sunday afternoon, shortly after Harris announced she would seek the top of the Democratic ticket nomination. Emily’s List, which works to support Democratic women for office who are pro-reprodu ..read more

For generations, the Zuni people were able to grow food in the New Mexico desert through what Pueblo of Zuni Gov. Arden Kucate described as “adaptive irrigation techniques and careful stewardship of our water and lands.” Then, in the early 19th century, this way of life was threatened as settlers upstream of the Zuni reservation began diverting water. Kucate told members of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday before a congressional subcommittee that this led to essentially all of the water in the river being taken before the Pueblo could access it. “Consequently, the Zuni River that was a perennial s ..read more

A federal district judge denied the National Rifle Association’s attempt to prevent New Mexico’s seven-day firearm waiting period law from being temporarily enforceable. U.S. District Judge James Browning issued his decision Monday denying a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction regarding HB 129 which was signed into law on March 4.  The bill establishes a seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases and closes a loophole that allows a firearm purchaser to obtain a firearm before a background check can be completed. “The judge’s decision confirms that New Mexico’s waiti ..read more

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, joined other senators in a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman following reports of safety and security issues at the artificial intelligence company. The letter states that the senators are concerned over the reports raising questions about OpenAI safety. “We seek additional information from OpenAI about the steps that the company is taking to meet its public commitments on safety, how the company is internally evaluating its progress on those commitments, and on the company’s identification and mitigation of cybersecurity threats,” the letter ..read more

President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday leaving questions about what happens to the ballot now. Rules were already in place for a candidate not making it to the general election ballot, University of New Mexico law professor Maryam Ahranjani said. “It’s not like even though the act is unprecedented there, you know, there’s a system in place to guide the electors,” Ahranjani said. The upcoming Democratic National Convention will officially determine the official Democratic presidential nominee. Delegates set to vote for Biden after he won primaries throughout the country ca ..read more

Heat-related deaths and illnesses are increasing in New Mexico, as the state has experienced greater increases in temperature than many other parts of the country. During an interim legislative committee on Monday in Albuquerque, a series of panelists spoke about climate change, its impacts on New Mexicans and what the state is doing to mitigate these effects. “Every summer, New Mexicans are dying preventable deaths,” Nathaniel Matthews-Trigg, a founding board member of Healthy Climate New Mexico, said. “It’s time we shift our focus from individual actions to collective community efforts. Only ..read more

New Mexico leaders responded to President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he was no longer seeking re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement shortly after the announcement referring to Biden’s leadership as strong and resolute. “His stellar record includes guiding Americans out of a deadly pandemic, presiding over a historic economic recovery, and restoring dignity and respect to the Oval Office,” Lujan Grisham said in the statement. “While President Biden is an indisputably great leader, his decision to withdr ..read more