New Mexico

NM Senate Majority Leader expresses optimism about session • Source New Mexico

Published

1 year ago

January 21, 2025

NM Senate Majority Leader expresses optimism about session • Source New Mexico

The opening gavel strike for the 2025 session is mere hours away and so begins the flurry of activity of a nearly $11 billion dollar budget and lawmaking.

Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), the Senate Majority Leader, sat down with Source New Mexico to talk about priorities in the 60-day session. He celebrated the closeness of the governor’s proposed budget, and the one proposed by lawmakers, saying there’s a lot of consensus even before the negotiations start.

“It’s a really good thing for us during the session, but also for New Mexicans, because we need to continue to put forward responsible budgets,” Wirth said.

The relationship between the fourth floor and the rest of the Roundhouse has thawed, but only recently.

In July, lawmakers adjourned a special session last year after five hours. The two houses passed emergency funds for disaster victims, but declined to take up any of the governor’s proposals for determining when someone can stand trial, harsher prison sentences and other crime legislation.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called July’s special session “one of the most disappointing days of my career,” and excoriated Democratic leadership in the days before and after for not sponsoring her proposed bills.

Wirth personally will be bringing bills addressing campaign finance reform, a plan to give the state more authority on protecting intermittent rivers from federal regulations gaps and raising caps for the state’s insurance program, a last resort for homeowners, among others.

But the first 30 days, lawmakers expect to focus on two legislative packages addressing public safety and behavioral health.

Source: What’s your assessment of how the Legislature will work with the governor’s public safety agenda?

Wirth: There have been a number of conversations between myself and the governor about the public safety process, and what we’ve done with the 30-day expedited plan.

The public safety package will be an omnibus bill centered around criminal competency and on the behavioral health side, there will be a new behavioral health trust fund, taking one-time, non-recurring money and putting it into a trust fund. It’ll spin off a 5% return. We’re hoping to get that up to $1 billion – may not happen this year, right up front. Then there’s going to be a second appropriation, probably $150 to $200 million for behavioral health infrastructure.

We are continuing to deal with the decimation of the whole behavioral health system that happened 10 years ago and critical to public safety proposals involving those suffering from mental illness and are unhoused is that there’s a place for them to get treatment.

I think the two parts of this overall package that we’ll do in the first 30 days are something certainly that the governor wants: It fits into her agenda. Obviously, there will be discussions about what is in the public safety agenda package – her priorities and our priorities – but I’m feeling more optimistic about a process that’s good to get us where we need to go.

There were hard words in the aftermath of last year’s special session from the governor, chastising lawmakers for not addressing public safety then; has the relation been better in recent months?

There’s no question that it was strained after the special session, but the governor reached out first, she and I have had a number of one-on-one meetings, and again, I think there’s an understanding that we need to move forward.

I’m really confident that the process we’ve set up here gives us the chance to thoroughly vet these bills, which are complicated. And the special session: it just wasn’t ready, there was no behavioral health piece. The frustrating thing is it wasn’t ready to go, it was forced and you can’t do a special session when everything’s not preplanned.

I also want to stress we’ve had six incredible years of productive work during Gov. Lujan Grisham’s term. I’ve been here long enough to know that’s certainly not always the case. Under the prior administration, from a Democratic perspective, we spent eight years fighting for the status quo.

Governor, Legislature feud over crime with special session just days away

There’s been this concern that the focus on crime would suck attention from other issues coming forward in the session, any response on that?

Absolutely. I had the same concern, but I think it’s really important by having this emphasis on the first 30 days. It allows us to really put forward a package, send it to the governor and then shift gears, and make sure we get all the other key issues through the process and to the table.

What you don’t want to have is 100 different crime bills floating around and us trying to round all that up right at the end of the session. I think that would have the potential to have the whole thing crater.

We’ll have a focused package up front and I want to be clear, it doesn’t mean additional crime bills won’t be heard on an individual basis. I think putting the emphasis up front addresses that concern and will allow us to obviously send it up to the governor. She gets her input on it, and adds things and figures out what needs to be on the table as we move forward.

Putting the emphasis on the midway point, I think helps address exactly those concerns.

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New Mexico

New Mexico Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 Day results for Feb. 2, 2026

Published

5 hours ago

February 3, 2026

Press Room

The New Mexico Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 2, 2026, results for each game:

Powerball

03-08-31-60-65, Powerball: 04, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 3

Day: 4-6-9

Evening: 6-9-4

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Lotto America

10-30-40-47-50, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 05

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 4

Evening: 7-7-9-5

Day: 2-6-2-5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Roadrunner Cash

05-19-26-31-36

Check Roadrunner Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Powerball Double Play

04-08-22-40-61, Powerball: 16

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Las Cruces Sun-News editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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New Mexico

Downwinders have a new way to apply for compensation – New Mexico Political Report

Published

17 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Press Room

Downwinders have a new way to apply for compensation – New Mexico Political Report

Two New Mexico federal representatives are trying to ensure their constituents are aware of possible payouts for those damaged by Cold War-era nuclear weapons testing.

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján Friday announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched a new online portal for Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) claims.

In a news release on the portal, Luján said it reflects updates to the program made last year, including the extension of benefits to all 33 New Mexico counties.

“In New Mexico and across the country, thousands of Americans sacrificed in service to our national security and deserve justice,” he said. “That’s why I’ve pushed the Department of Justice to provide clear guidance for New Mexicans to cut through the red tape and easily apply for and receive compensation. I’ll continue fighting to ensure RECA delivers for our families.”

A 2024 rally featuring New Mexico Democrats Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, at the lectern, and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, and Guam’s Republican House delegate, James Moylan, along with advocates. Downwinders and members of Congress called on Republican leadership to vote on expanding Radiation Exposure Compensation Fund, which expired June 10 last year. (Courtesy photo)

Earlier in the week, U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández told community members at an engagement in Peña Blanca to consider their eligibility for RECA compensation.

The program calls for one-time payments of $100,000 for individuals affected by radiation from nuclear tests.

She said anybody who happened to live in New Mexico for at least one year between 1944 and 1962 and developed a radiation-related cancer is eligible. The one-year period does not have to be consecutive; cumulative months across the qualifying period count.

Leger Fernández distributed flyers with details on the program at the local community center.

Covered cancers include leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, brain or lung cancer, and male or female breast cancer.

“If you had one of those cancers,” Leger Fernández said, “Or your father died from one of those cancers … children can apply as survivors.”

Survivors are considered in the following order: living spouse, children, parents, grandchildren and grandparents.

One new development in the updated RECA is an alternative to submitting medical records to prove that one had a qualifying cancer. The application form now contains a box that authorizes the Justice Department to contact the New Mexico Tumor Registry on a patient’s behalf. The Tumor Registry can then verify the qualifying disease.

The Tumor Registry has records for New Mexicans diagnosed with cancer after 1973, along with partial records for those diagnosed between 1966 and 1973.

Individuals who have already received the original $50,000 Downwinder payment under RECA are not eligible for additional compensation

“I remain grateful to the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, survivors, and advocates who helped get RECA across the finish line,” Luján said. “Over the past decade working to advance this issue, I’ve been moved by the stories of families who became ill or lost loved ones, but who never gave up this fight.”

All claims must be filed by Dec. 31, 2027.

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New Mexico

No Real ID, no problem: TSA’s ConfirmID offers quick fix at Sunport

Published

1 day ago

February 2, 2026

Press Room

No Real ID, no problem: TSA’s ConfirmID offers quick fix at Sunport

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Travelers without a Real ID can now use TSA’s new ConfirmID program for a fee to get through security at the Sunport.

The program, which began Feb. 1, allows travelers to pay $45 to enroll for a period of 10 days.

Acting Executive Assistant Administrator Steve Lorincz from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said, “It’s a voluntary option to those customers to make sure that they’re able to get processed through the TSA.”

Lorincz explained that the program ensures travelers can make both their outbound and return flights. The $45 fee covers the cost of the operation itself.

Jeffrey Harris, a passenger flying through Sunport, said, “It’s a great idea for anybody who loses their ID. Or, you know, I lose stuff all the time.”

Tyler Barber, another traveler, added, “Your stuff gets stolen or anything like that. It’s a good just second option.” Scarlett Dooley also supported the program, saying, “It’s smart, because I think there are a lot of situations that happen where someone just leaves it in their car, but they might miss their flight.”

However, some passengers remain skeptical. Christi Alvarez questioned, “They just going to have somebody pay the $45 or are they expected to bring other forms of identification? I don’t really know.”

According to TSA, travelers need to show a receipt or confirmation of ConfirmID along with another ID or documentation to verify their identity. The agency noted that about 6 percent of the U.S. population lacks a Real ID, with the figure rising to 20 percent in New Mexico.

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