New Mexico House approves package of public safety bills affecting mental health response, survivor benefits
New Mexico House approves package of public safety bills affecting mental health response, survivor benefits
Measures would revise intervention standards, increase penalties for assaults on officers and expand pensions for families of fallen first responders
Organ Mountain News report
SANTA FE - New Mexico House lawmakers have approved three public safety measures that would change how the state handles mental health interventions, expand benefits for families of fallen first responders and increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement.
The legislation — Senate Bill 3, House Bill 43 and House Bill 61 — cleared the House on Monday with bipartisan support and now moves forward in the legislative process.
Senate Bill 3 would revise state law governing when courts and law enforcement can intervene in cases involving individuals who may pose a serious risk to themselves or others. The measure updates definitions in New Mexico’s Mental Health Code and Assisted Outpatient Treatment Act to establish clearer standards for determining when earlier intervention is warranted. The bill passed on a 50-10 vote and must return to the Senate for concurrence before it can go to the governor.
House Bill 43 focuses on benefits for families of first responders killed in the line of duty. The proposal would clarify eligibility for survivor pensions for spouses, children and designated beneficiaries of police officers, firefighters and correctional officers who die while on duty. It also allows state firefighters injured on the job to continue earning service credit toward retirement while receiving workers’ compensation. The bill passed the House without opposition.
House Bill 61 would address a sentencing inconsistency involving aggravated battery against peace officers. Under current law, shooting at and missing an officer is treated as a second-degree felony, while shooting at and hitting an officer is classified as a third-degree felony. The bill would make both offenses second-degree felonies. It passed the House on a 55-11 vote.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the measures are part of a broader public safety strategy and indicated she intends to sign them once they reach her desk.
“These three bills represent an important part of my administration’s ongoing strategy to make New Mexico safer and to support law enforcement officers and first responders who put their lives on the line each day to protect us,” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “I look forward to signing each of the bills when they arrive on the Fourth Floor.”
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