Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is moving forward with Thursday’s special legislative session on public safety issues despite concern from lawmakers. She signed the official proclamation for the session at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Democratic lawmakers on Monday expressed reservations that the special session would be productive, stressing the need for more time to further vet the proposals and build consensus among lawmakers and stakeholders.
House Speaker Javier Martinez said special sessions usually address emergencies, rather than being called for complex topics like crime prevention.
“And certainly not for a number of different bills that seek to change — in some cases, pretty drastically — existing public policy,” he said.
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Lujan Grisham, also a Democrat, responded Wednesday that she agrees public safety issues are “delicate.”
“But that’s why you have a Legislature,” she said. “They don’t get to just appropriate money for soccer fields. They have to also do this work too. They’re both valuable to New Mexicans. Do the work.”
She said her office had been in touch with lawmakers since they spoke out against the session and that she added a few new topics to the agenda in response. Those include relief for fire victims in Ruidoso, combating organized crime and cracking down on fentanyl.
“So, quite a bit has shifted in just those few days,” Lujan Grisham said. “If people were talking to us like that all along, there might have been other proposals that would make more sense.”
The governor is also continuing to call for lawmakers to address the original proposals they took issue with. Those include expanding who can be involuntarily committed to mental health facilities, increasing penalties for possessing a gun after being convicted of a felony, and criminalizing panhandling in some cases.
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The governor said, regardless of what legislators accomplish in the special session, she considers calling it a success in and of itself because doing so signals that the status quo “can’t stand.”
“What I have to say to New Mexicans about what happened or didn’t? I won’t know that answer until I know that answer,” she said.
The 2024 special legislative session is set to convene Thursday at noon in Santa Fe’s Roundhouse.
NM FAST (New Mexico Federal and State Technology) is now accepting applications for a free space-sector accelerator cohort designed to help New Mexico-based technology companies compete for federal funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The cohort targets founders and researchers pursuing grants from NASA, Space Force and related federal agencies, with programming set to launch July 21.
The cohort will admit six to 10 New Mexico companies and run for 10 to 12 weeks, meeting in weekly sessions of approximately one and a half to two hours. Programming covers the full arc of federal commercialization strategy, including space-sector SBIR/STTR opportunities and federal funding pathways, proposal development for technical narratives and commercialization components, federal procurement positioning and agency discovery, capital strategy and follow-on funding options, and transition planning from Phase I to Phase II awards. Participants also receive targeted one-on-one advisory support throughout the program. The cohort is offered at no cost to accepted companies.
The program is open to companies at both the pre-award and early-award stages. The majority of cohort seats are designed for Phase 0 companies preparing to submit Phase I SBIR/STTR applications to NASA or Space Force. A limited number of seats are available for Phase I awardees working toward Phase II readiness and Phase III transition planning.
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“New Mexico has a deep base of research and a growing pipeline of founders ready to translate that work into companies that can compete for federal R&D dollars,” said Carlos Murguia, director of the Technology and Innovation Gateway at Arrowhead Center. “This cohort focuses specifically on the space sector, pairing New Mexico companies with Larta’s expertise in SBIR and STTR commercialization to give founders a clear, structured path from early-stage research to federal award.”
Larta Institute, NM FAST’s commercialization partner for this program, will lead the full design and delivery of the accelerator curriculum. Larta has supported startups that have collectively raised more than $23.7 billion since 1993 and brings that track record to founders working in New Mexico’s growing aerospace and space technology sector.
The cohort aligns with the aerospace priority sector named in the New Mexico Entrepreneurship Programmatic Support Grant and is relevant to companies working at the intersection of advanced computing, bioscience and advanced energy applications in space-related contexts.
NM FAST is administered by Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University and operates statewide, serving founders in Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Los Alamos and rural communities across New Mexico. Over more than a decade of programming, NM FAST has supported more than 470 New Mexico startups and helped companies secure nearly $28 million in federal SBIR awards. Targeted outreach is directed to rural, women, veteran and minority entrepreneurs.
The program is sponsored by the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Technology and Innovation Office through the New Mexico Entrepreneurship Programmatic Support Grant, which supports continued statewide programming for SBIR/STTR-eligible companies in the four priority sectors.
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Applications are open now and will be accepted through July 14, 2026. Interested companies can apply at forms.gle/CqSwEL7LahqB5pGu9. Space is limited, and selected companies will be notified before the program launch.
SANTA FE, N.M. – Santa Fe County and Edgewood approved a new agreement and ordinance that secures ongoing fire and EMS services for Edgewood residents.
According to a joint announcement from the Town of Edgewood and Santa Fe County on June 19, the two governments negotiated and adopted a new Joint Powers Agreement and ordinance to keep the Santa Fe County Fire Department serving the town.
County and town representatives drafted the agreement together. The town adopted the ordinance unanimously at a special meeting on June 16, putting an end to weeks of uncertainty.
Santa Fe County District 3 Commissioner Camilla Bustamante said, “I believe we are all relieved to know that the people of Edgewood will continue to have the fire and EMS services necessary to protect their homes, their families, and their community. This community deserves nothing less.”
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The announcement said the ordinance takes effect five days after final publication. The statement also said no further action or approval is needed to guarantee continued fire suppression, fire prevention, and EMS services for Edgewood residents.
Both governments noted the agreement will continue indefinitely unless either side ends it with five years’ notice.
