New Mexico House Bill 61 heads for Governor approval

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — A bill that would strengthen penalties for certain attacks against peace officers in New Mexico has passed both the House and Senate and is now headed to the governor’s desk.

House Bill 61 focuses on aggravated battery against a peace officer and would increase the felony level in the most severe cases, including incidents involving great bodily harm or the use of a deadly weapon.

Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story announced the bill’s passage in a video posted to social media, calling it a long-awaited fix to state law.

“The bill has been introduced for over a decade and it fixes a flaw in state statute,” Story said in the post.

Jordan Salas reports on New Mexico House Bill 61 (Credit: KFOX14)

Under current New Mexico law, law enforcement leaders say there is a gap in how aggravated battery cases involving officers are charged. Story previously told KFOX14 that pointing a gun at an officer and shooting an officer can, in some cases, be charged at the same felony level.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Story said in a recent interview. “It just fixes a defect in state law.”

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Under House Bill 61, cases involving great bodily harm or a deadly weapon would be upgraded from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, which carries harsher potential penalties under state law.

Story said similar versions of the bill have been introduced for years but repeatedly failed to make it through the full legislative process.

“There’s been a bill like that introduced for over a decade,” he said. “Last year it passed the House and died on the Senate side.”

Story also thanked lawmakers and the bill’s sponsors for advancing the measure this session, saying better education about what the bill does helped move it forward.

House Bill 61 now awaits action from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. If signed, the law would take effect July 1.