New Mexico
Otero County Rep. John Block introduced 30 bills this session. Here’s where they stand.
As of Wednesday, Jan. 31, at least 641 bills, resolutions and memorials had been introduced at the 2024 New Mexico Legislative session.
Among them were bills submitted by Otero County Rep. John Block, a Republican who took the seat in 2022. Block sponsored 30 pieces of legislation targeting controversial topics like the death penalty, abortion and pretrial detention.
The New Mexico Legislature will wrap the 30-day session Feb. 16, during which it primarily focused on the passage of a budget for the upcoming fiscal year while wrestling with record levels of revenue driven by the oil and gas industry in the state.
Among the handful of policy bills introduced by politicians during the session were gun rights, paid family medical leave and oil and gas regulation reform.
Most of the bills bearing Block’s signature have stalled in committee. Here’s a breakdown of the bills Block said residents should keep an eye on.
House Bill 51
House Bill 51 that is a reintroduction of 2023’s H.B. 163, according to Block, which would give small businesses a 25% credit on gross tax receipts.
The bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee and House Taxation and Revenue Committee where it is stalled.
More: Ryal McMurry appointed to fill Alamogordo School Board vacancy
House Bill 110
Block introduced House Bill 110 which would limit certain types of abortions, a reintroduction of the 2023 House Bill 258 which proposed criminalizing abortions. HB 258 was postponed indefinitely.
HB 110 targets healthcare employees that don’t warn their patients of a heartbeat.
“A health care provider who knowingly performs an abortion and thereby kills a human fetus without determining, according to standard medical practice, whether the fetus has a detectable heartbeat; without informing the pregnant woman of the results of that determination; or after determining, according to standard medical practice, that the fetus has a heartbeat is guilty of a third-degree felony resulting in the death of a human fetus,” read the bill language.
HB 110 was stalled in the committee assignments process.
House Memorial 10
House Memorial 10, titled “Foster Children Task Force,” would create a joint taskforce among the Children, Youth and Families Department and Health Care Authority Department to tackle placement of foster children.
“Also, in the House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs Committee (HGEIC), HM 10, I am co-sponsoring with many other representatives, will bring a solution to children sleeping in N.M. Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) offices. The memorial passed the committee unanimously,” Block said.
The memorial received a “do pass” recommendation from the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee.
Impeachment, death penalty, gun permits and pretrial detention
Block sponsored several other stalled pieces of legislation alongside fellow Republicans.
House Resolution 1 proposed the impeachment of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The resolution was referred to the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee and House Judiciary Committee where it stalled.
House Bill 78 proposed the permitless carry of firearms by adults. It stalled in the committee assignment process.
House Bill 77 asked the Legislature to reinstate the death penalty in New Mexico. It stalled in the committee assignment process.
House Bill 44 would have created an avenue for defendants to rebut pretrial detention orders if proven they are dangerous. It stalled in the committee assignment process.
Senate Bill 17
While Block did not sponsor Senate Bill 17, he said he was an avid supporter of it.
Senate Bill 17 introduces ways to sustain and improve hospital care statewide, including addressing funding.
“SB 17, the Health Care Delivery and Access Act (HDAA) would increase the federal Medicaid matching dollars available to the state to support statewide hospital access, workforce and quality and is funded through a hospital assessment,” said Pamela Blackwell with New Mexico Hospital Association Government Relations and Communications.
More: Gun buyers would have to wait one week under bill passed by NM Senate
In a news release from the New Mexico Hospital Association, the bill will have some of the best benefits for the state.
“Improve recruitment and retention of providers and workers, provide enhanced quality of care to patients, continue to reinvest any gains into services for our communities,” said Blackwell in the release.
Updates on pieces of legislation can be found at nmlegis.gov.
Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter at @Juan36Corr.
El Paso police seek suspect in East Side robbery, burglary
An unidentified man is suspected in an East Side robbery and a restaurant burglary on Oct. 20, 2025, in Crime Stoppers of El Paso’s Crime of the Week.
Provided by Crime Stoppers of El Paso
An Anthony, New Mexico man was sentenced to nearly two decades in federal prison for selling methamphetamine from a trailer on his parents’ property, authorities said.
A federal judge sentenced David Amaya, 43, to 19 years and seven months in prison on one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, New Mexico federal court records show. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release after he serves his prison term.
U.S. District Judge Margaret I. Strickland handed down the sentence on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the federal courthouse in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Williams prosecuted the case.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Ryan Ellison and FBI Albuquerque Field Office Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris announced Amaya’s sentencing in a joint news release.
Amaya pleaded guilty to the charge in September as part of a plea agreement that dismissed one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, court records show.
Anthony, New Mexico man sells meth on parents’ property
FBI agents began investigating Amaya after he sold methamphetamine to a “controlled buyer” in July and August 2024, the news release states. Controlled buys are when law enforcement uses an undercover agent or a witness to purchase drugs from a suspected drug dealer.
The agents obtained a search warrant on Aug. 22, 2024, for a “specific tow-behind type trailer that Amaya was known to be living in and conducting narcotics transfers out of,” a federal complaint affidavit states. The trailer was located on property owned by Amaya’s parents in Anthony, New Mexico, the news release states.
The trailer did not have a restroom, but agents found a small makeshift bathroom structure with a porta-potty inside next to the trailer. The agents then obtained a warrant to also search the small bathroom structure.
The agents found “a large quantity of white crystalline substance suspected to be methamphetamine” throughout the trailer and bathroom structure, the affidavit states. In the bathroom, agents found a clothing hamper with “a gallon zip lock bag full of suspected methamphetamine” hidden inside.
Agents found a black Ruger .357 caliber handgun containing five rounds of .357 caliber ammunition and a black Mossberg 500 E410 gauge shotgun on the bed inside the trailer, the affidavit states. The news release states agents found “hundreds of rounds of ammunition.”
They also found about 4.42 grams of methamphetamine on the bed and another 26 grams under the bed, the affidavit states. Agents found eight more grams of methamphetamine on a nightstand.
Amaya told agents during an interview that the methamphetamine was his, he had acquired it over a period of time, and did not realize how much it was, the affidavit states. He added he “needed the guns for protection, so people would know he has them, making him safer,” the affidavit states.
In total, the agents found 1,183 grams of methamphetamine.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
GRANTS, N.M. – The City of Grants is canceling this year’s annual Christmas light parade, citing the safety of the public and their own officers.
Dozens of floats were supposed to roll down Santa Fe Avenue on Saturday night, but Grants police are holding off until next year after three incidents where someone shot at law enforcement officers.
“It was definitely a difficult decision, but due to the incident that took place on December 8, where law enforcement was shot at in the area of Santa Fe Avenue, we made that decision to protect the citizens of Grants,” says Grants Police Chief Maxine Monte.
She says a New Mexico State Police officer was shot at while making a traffic stop. The officer walked away uninjured, but this was too much for the chief.
“We’ve had three different incidents where law enforcement was shot at. One was May of 2025, the other one was August of 2025, and then the recent event of December 8 of 2025,” says Monte.
It’s not a risk the chief wants to take, and points out people would be standing exactly where the last shooting happened.
“We have a lot of citizens that attend our parade, and our main concern was that they were out in the open in the middle of the night, and in the same area that our latest shooting took place.”
Grant residents will be able to see the floats during the day on Saturday. But even some daylight isn’t convincing some residents.
“I’ll be staying home,” said Amy Brigdon. “There’s too many people in the world that want to see bad things happen to other people. I’m not one of them.”
Police still don’t have a suspect for this week’s attempted shooting. Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with the Grants Police Department.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife rereleased a wolf into Grand County this week after it had traveled into New Mexico, according to a news release.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish captured gray wolf 2403 and returned the animal to Colorado.
Colorado wildlife officials decided to release the wolf in Grand County yesterday because of the proximity to “an unpaired female gray wolf,” nearby prey populations and distance from livestock, according to the release.
“Gray wolf 2403 has been returned to Colorado and released in a location where it can best contribute to CPW’s efforts to establish a self-sustaining wolf population while concurrently attempting to minimize potential wolf-related livestock conflicts,” said acting director of CPW Laura Clellan, according to the release.
The wolf was once a member of the Copper Creek pack but departed from it this fall.
A memorandum of understanding between Colorado and Arizona, New Mexico and Utah requires that any gray wolves that leave Colorado and enter those states be returned. That was created in part to maintain the integrity of a Mexican wolf recovery program.
“We recognized during the planning process that we would need to have consideration and plans to protect the genetic integrity of the Mexican wolf recovery program, while also establishing a gray wolf population in Colorado,” said CPW’s Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell, according to the release.
Kim Mulkey set to lead LSU women into rare matchup with her alma mater Louisiana Tech
More loons are filling Maine’s lakes with their ghost-like calls – The Boston Globe
Maryland HOA holiday lights dispute highlights what homeowners can and can’t do
Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools
Where to dine inside an igloo in Massachusetts this winter
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Inside Minnesota’s $1B fraud: fake offices, phony firms and a scandal hiding in plain sight
Residents emerge in DR Congo’s tense Uvira after M23 rebel takeover
What to know about Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release from immigration custody
Republican House leader signals plan to begin contempt proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton
Three years on, former MEP Kaili remains in limbo still awaiting trial
-
Alaska7 days agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Texas1 week agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Ohio1 week agoWho do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
Washington4 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa6 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Miami, FL6 days agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion
-
Cleveland, OH6 days agoMan shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS
-
World6 days ago
Chiefs’ offensive line woes deepen as Wanya Morris exits with knee injury against Texans
