New Mexico Legislature to Address Homelessness in Albuquerque in Special Session
Alamogordo Local News – This week, the New Mexico state Legislature will tackle a series of proposals aimed at addressing homelessness in Albuquerque during a special session called by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
On Monday, just three days before the special session, the governor visited downtown Albuquerque to emphasize the urgent issues caused by homelessness in the area.
“You can’t walk on the sidewalk,” Lujan Grisham told KRQE at a press event promoting her legislative proposals. “You can’t enter these businesses. These business owners can barely keep their doors open. They spend more time on their own public safety and the environment around their business.”
According to reports, the city cleans about 200 homeless encampments monthly and responds to 3,000 service calls related to these encampments.
During the session, the legislature will consider five bills:
- Loitering on Medians One bill would make it a crime to loiter on medians that are three feet or narrower in areas where the speed limit exceeds 30 miles per hour.
- “We are not criminalizing homelessness,” the state website clarified. “This is strictly designed to protect pedestrians and motorists and to address New Mexico’s status as the number one state for pedestrian fatalities. This also is NOT about banning panhandling. People are still free to ask for money on sidewalks and other public areas.”
- Tougher Penalties for Felons with Firearms Another proposal would create tougher penalties for felons found in possession of a firearm during a crime, setting a mandatory minimum term of nine years in prison, up from the current maximum of three years.
- Mandatory Crime Incident Reporting The legislature will also consider a bill that would require all law enforcement agencies in the state to submit monthly reports on crime incidents and ballistics information.
- Broadening Involuntary Commitment Definitions Another bill up for consideration would broaden the definitions of “danger to self and others” in the state’s involuntary commitment statute.
- Competency Bill The final proposal involves a competency bill that requires judges to order district attorneys to consider filing for involuntary commitment of criminal defendants if their competency is in question. The bill allows judges to detain defendants for up to seven days to initiate the petition.
Specifically, the bill would require judges to hold defendants for up to a week and mandate the District Attorney to file a petition for involuntary civil commitment under one of these three circumstances, according to the state legislature’s website:
- The defendant is involved in a serious violent offense.
- The defendant has committed a felony involving the use of a firearm.
- The defendant has been found incompetent two or more times in the previous 12 months.
Governor Lujan Grisham’s proposals aim to address the multifaceted issue of homelessness in Albuquerque, balancing public safety concerns with efforts to provide support and services to those in need.