New Mexico
NM Legislature Recap Jan. 29: Blizzards of of snow and white coats • Source New Mexico
Snow blanketed the New Mexico Capitol on Wednesday, but inside was a sea of cherry red and silver honoring the University of New Mexico, which also released a scrum of white-coated medical school physicians to roam the halls.
The state Senate unanimously confirmed one of its former colleagues, Greg Nibert, to a six-year term on the utility regulating body, the Public Regulation Committee. Nibert, a former legislator in both chambers, was ousted in the June primary by Sen. Pat Boone (R-Elida). Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Nibert earlier this month, selecting him from a pool of 32 applicants, according to a press release from the PRC.
A bundle of behavioral health bills will face further consideration after a three-hour Senate Health and Public Affairs committee meeting. While members approved Senate Bill 1, which creates a $1 billion fund for behavioral health 10-0, the committee ran out of time to consider related bills, and wanted to further evaluate and potentially amend them.
The committee will evaluate Senate Bill 2, an appropriations bill for an additional $140 million for seven agencies and grants for communities, and Senate Bill 3, which directs the courts to develop behavioral health regions, coordinate meetings and develop regional plans on Monday.
The Senate Education Committee passed three bills through in the morning and bumped another three to Friday after the committee ran out of time before lawmakers were expected on the Senate Floor at 11 a.m. The bills they advanced:
- Senate Bill 60 to establish a high school water management pilot project from Sen. Michael Padilla (D-Albuquerque) passed unanimously and heads to the Senate Conservation committee.
- Sen. Pat Woods (R-Clovis) sponsored Senate Bill 8, which puts aside $5 million for a school loan repayment program for veterinarians, passed 9-0, and now heads to Senate Judiciary.
- Senate Bill 11, from Sen. Crystal Brantley (R-Elephant Butte) requests districts adopt policies to store cell phones during the school day and offers $10 million in funding for reimbursement. It passed 7-2 and heads to Senate Finance.
Lawmakers rolled Senate Bill 10, the Anti-Hazing Act proposed by Sen. Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque), to Friday’s Senate Education Committee meeting, following a request from committee members to consider amending the bill to take out provisions related to primary school students. Another anti-hazing bill is in the works, as well.
The committee also pushed to Friday: Senate Bill 13, the State-Tribal Education Compact Act, proposed by Sen. Benny Shendo (D-Jemez Pueblo) (read more about that bill here) and
Senate Bill 19 from Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces), which would require the Higher Education Department to develop a 10-hour training for new university regents and those who have more than one year left in their term as of June 20, 2025.
To keep track of all these bills and the ones below, make sure to check Source New Mexico’s bill tracker. And please reach out to us if there’s any information you’d like us to include on it: [email protected]
Bill watch
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard three public safety bills on Wednesday afternoon: Senate Bill 18, which would create the crime of SWATing, Senate Bill 32, which would raise the penalty for possessing a stolen firearm, and Senate Bill 70, which would add 11 new crimes to the definition of racketeering.
The committee did not vote on any of the bills because Chair Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) said any crime-related legislation that passes through his committee will likely be “rolled” together into an omnibus bill.
Water protection bills will be heard by the Senate Conservation Committee at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Read more about them here.
The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee will hear another batch of public safety bills Thursday afternoon, including elevated sentences for shooting threats, possessions of weapon conversion devices, penalties for vehicle thefts and use of juvenile records in firearm background checks. Lawmakers will also discuss the Artificial Intelligence Act.
Word on the street is there will be a special address to both chambers tomorrow. We’ll keep you posted.
Source NM reporters Patrick Lohmann and Austin Fisher contributed to the writing and reporting of this article.
Leapfrog released its 2026 spring hospital safety grades.
Grades are assigned based on overall performance, including patient safety.
The Leapfrog Group’s goal is to publicly report patient safety and quality information for the benefit of consumers, purchasers, and referring physicians as they make decisions about where to seek care and where to direct patients,” the company stated on its website.
Here’s how your local hospitals performed.
MountainView Regional Medical Center – A
Leapfrog gave MountainView an “A.”
“Being the only hospital in Doña Ana County to earn an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group speaks to the high standards our team sets – and meets – every day,” said MountainView CEO Patrick Shannon. “This achievement reflects the dedication of our physicians, nurses, and employees to deliver the safest care possible for our community.”
“An ‘A’ Grade is a strong sign that MountainView is deeply committed to protecting patients from harm,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We commend the leadership, Board, clinicians, staff and volunteers for the role each played in earning this distinction.”
The hospital performed better than average in several areas including low infection rates, addressing safety problems, and ICU care. The hospital received below average performances ratings in surgical site infections post colon surgery, communication about medicine and discharge, communication with doctors and nurses and nursing and bedside care for patients.
Memorial Medical Center – B
Memorial Medical Center received a “B” grade from Leapfrog.
The hospital performed well in effective leadership, reduction and prevention of infections and addressing safety problems.
The hospital received below average ratings for kidney injury after surgery, serious breathing problems, harmful events, communication about medicine and discharge, and communication with doctors and nurses.
Not rated by Leapfrog were Three Crosses Regional Hospital.
Nearby top rated hospitals
Leapfrog gave an A to William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso. Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso received a B.
How did other New Mexico hospitals perform?
A recipients were:
- CHRISTUS Southern New Mexico in Alamogordo
B recipients were:
- Lovelace Women’s Hospital in Albuquerque
C recipients were:
- Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad
- CHRISTUS St. Vincent in Santa FE
- Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell
- Lovelace Medical Center-Downtown in Albuquerque
- Lovelace Regional Hospital in Roswell
- Lovelace Westside Hospital in Albuquerque
- University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque
D recipients were:
- San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington
- UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho
Explore the full survey results at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/.
Jessica Onsurez is editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News. Reach her by email at jonsurez@usatodayco.com.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) — The Social Security Office released the most popular baby names for 2025 on Thursday. And here in New Mexico, we saw some familiar names top the charts once again.
Coming in at No. 1 for girls is Mia, and as for the boys, Noah ranks No. 1. That’s no change from 2024 when Mia and Noah also led the pack, both coming in at No 1. For 2025, there were a total of 66 babies named Mia and 115 babies named Noah, while in 2024, there were 81 Mias and 105 Noahs.
What do the names mean? Online sources list a few different interpretations for Mia, but one common association is with the Italian word “mia,” which means “mine.” As for Noah, the name is most commonly associated with the prominent bible figure. It’s thought to mean “rest,” or “comfort.”
Here’s a look at some of the other top baby names in New Mexico for 2025.
- Girls:
- Olivia (65 total)
- Sophia (65 total)
- Sofia (60 total)
- Camila (59 total)
- Eliana (57 total)
- Isabella (56 total)
- Amelia (53 total)
- Aria (45 total)
- Aurora (45 total)
- Boys:
- Liam (109 total)
- Mateo (99 total)
- Elijah (76 total)
- Santiago (70 total)
- Sebastian (69 total)
- Ezra (67 total)
- Elias (66 total)
- Ezekiel (66 total)
- Levi (69 total)
Nationally, Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names, and have been for the past seven years, according to the Social Security Administration. As for the fastest-rising names, Klarity jumped nearly 1,400 spots on the girls’ list, and Kasai jumped 1,108 for boy names.
Other names rising in popularity for boys include Atlas, Adriel, Emiliano, Arthur, and Archer. On the girls’ list, Ailany, Sienna, Amara, and Georgia are becoming more popular.
You can find the full list by state online.
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