SANTA FE — Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham affixed her signature to House Bill 5, Senate Bill 4, and Senate Bill 5 as June drew to a close.

House Bill 5 establishes the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission, a bipartisan, nine-member body, which will evaluate and make recommendations on the creation of a civil right of action for violations of state constitutional rights and on unnecessary excessive force by police officers.  It will also review the use of qualified immunity as a defense to liability by an employee of a public body. The commission will submit a report to the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee by Nov. 15.

Six members of the commission will be appointed by the...

SANTA FE — Set for that long-awaited retirement, Chief Justice Judith K. Nakamura of the New Mexico Supreme Court will have to wait a little longer.

Nakamura announced plans in mid-June to retire effective Aug. 1.

“While representatives from the Public Employees Retirement Association  and I worked closely together before I announced my retirement, new information I received from PERA yesterday [June 25] requires that my retirement be postponed,” Nakamura said.

“This is certainly not what I planned or expected, but I will use this additional time to continue to make the best legal decisions possible and advance the administration of justice for the benefit of all New...

Numerous timely issues addressed

Navigating the global financial uncertainty brought about by the novel coronavirus was one of the goals of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in calling the first special session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature, which began on June 18 and ended June 22.

Lujan Grisham said she received what she was seeking, a bipartisan roadmap that can be used to move forward in the coming months.

“My administration has from day one emphasized the importance of expanding the state’s reserves; I am glad to have done that work on the front end, which has ensured our state will have needed flexibility as we move forward. In our fiscal approach, a...

From Zoom to CLASSROOM

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Public Education Department announced the state plan to return students safely to classes this fall.

Acknowledging that the pandemic is still with us, on June 23, Education Secretary Ryan Stewart spoke about what the future holds for the next school year.

“We’re not through this pandemic by a long shot, but as we learn to live safely in a COVID-positive world, this collective effort has flattened the curve to the point where we can engage in the process of reentering our school buildings,” he said.

In May, Stewart convened a re-entry task force including educators, parents, administrators, public health officials, and many...