ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — What could Albuquerque learn from Miami? A group of New Mexico leaders is heading to Miami this week to see a first-of-its-kind facility devoted to behavioral health.

This is the third group from New Mexico to make this trip, hoping to bring back some substantial ideas. This week’s trip holds even more weight as leaders consider the governor’s agenda for the upcoming special session.

The governor’s agenda for the special session includes five main points, and some leaders say the most complicated part of it involves mental competency. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants lawmakers to rework the laws to essentially make it easier for the courts to mandate mental health treatment for certain suspects.

Some lawmakers are already looking at the concerns of implementing the legislation, if it passes. That’s where the Miami trips come in.

The group of 20 heading to Miami this week includes one Albuquerque lawmaker and local leadership from much of southern New Mexico. The facility in Miami serves people with serious mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders who cycle through the criminal justice system.

The idea is to learn how to approach building behavioral health facilities, staffing, and sustainability – from an already successful model.

“Looking at the whole picture, it’s just a win for everyone to move in this direction,” Republican Rep. Jenifer Jones said. “It’s only a piece of what we need in mental health and, you know, behavioral health infrastructure here in New Mexico, but it’s a big piece that affects everyone.”

Jones said being successful will come down to better communication and using the state’s resources more effectively.

The trip to Miami is scheduled for later this week ahead of the special session on July 18.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham shared the following statement on the issue:

“Republicans contend that making New Mexico a safer place during the special session under my proposals is ‘undoable’––an assertion I flatly reject. It’s only ‘undoable’ if lawmakers refuse to roll up their sleeves and work with me to get it done.  

State lawmakers of both parties must ask themselves if they are comfortable with more crime and more homelessness because business owners and rank-and-file New Mexicans are fed up. We can make our state safer but it’s going to require some hard work, a can-do attitude, and a collaborative approach. I call on lawmakers to help me pass my common-sense public safety reform agenda for New Mexicans during the special session.”