Sarah Rubinstein and Adrian Hedden | Artesia Daily Press
Lawmakers moved quickly in the opening days of a special session convened in Santa Fe, passing a $162 million budget bill intended to overcome federal cuts backed by Republicans in Congress, and appropriating state funds to make up the difference should Congress allow the Affordable Care Act to expire at the end of the year.
The special session, the first of 2025, was called by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham Oct. 1 to address a sweeping list of topics, namely the state’s efforts to account for federal funding cuts enacted by President Donald Trump when he signed a spending bill July 4, known by supporters as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
The session ended Thursday night, after lawmakers passed five of 11 bills introduced during the two days of committee meetings, debates and votes on the House and Senate floors.
First among Lujan Grisham and Democrat priorities, House Bill 1, the funding bill, passed the House on Oct. 1 after a 43-24 vote, and the Senate later that day, 25-13. It will next go to Lujan Grisham’s desk to be signed into law.
HB 1 entailed a $30 million food assistance program, making up for cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which came under fire in the federal spending bill, along with $17 million in healthcare subsidies and $50 million to the state’s Rural Health Delivery Fund used to supplement health care facilities in small towns and remote communities.
“Over the last several months in meetings across our state, our Legislative Finance Committee has been closely reviewing the massive federal funding cuts and changes coming out of Washington, D.C. to understand how they will impact New Mexicans,” said Rep. Nathan Small (D-36), who chairs the Legislative Finance Committee and was a lead sponsor of HB 1.
“The investments we are making today are about responding in a responsible way to protect the things families across our state need most: healthcare and food.”
The House and Senate also passed House Bill 2, which would allow the state’s Healthcare Affordability Fund to be used to maintain healthcare coverage for New Mexicans, should the federal government repeal or allow the Affordable Care Act to expire, meaning tax credits offered to U.S. policyholders would be eliminated.
Republicans in Congress signaled they intended to do so, with the ACA expected to expire at the end of 2025. That was a sticking point for Democrats in Congress who refused to agree to a federal budget by the Oct. 1 start of the 2026 fiscal year, leading to a government shut down that continued as the state’s special session began.
HB 2 passed the House 49-13 Oct. 1, and the Senate 34-3 on Oct. 2.
Other bills passed included Senate Bill 1, which appropriated $50 million to the state’s Rural Health Care Delivery Fund to aid hospitals in small towns and remote communities. Senate Bill 2 would allow local or metropolitan courts to preside over criminal competency hearings, reversing legislation enacted during the 2025 regular session requiring these matters be taken up by district courts.
Senate Bill 3 will allow the New Mexico Department of Health and Human Services to enact vaccine requirements for children enrolled in public schools, linking the regulations to recommendations set out by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“The legislation passed during the special session protects families from being priced out of health care when their premiums double or triple, and we’re supporting providers who are keeping the doors open in our smallest communities,” Lujan Grisham said at the outset of the session.
Session opens with plea for peace
The session opened with lawmakers in the State House and Senate opining on political violence about three weeks after the public murder of conservative social media influencer Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was fatally shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University, and 22-year-old Taylor Robinson was subsequently arrested for the shooting and is being tried for first-degree murder.
Alluding to the shooting for about 10 minutes before the session began, members from both parties in the Senate took turns to share the need for open disagreement and discussion during speeches at their respective chambers at the opening of the session.
“Let’s rebuild a culture of dialogue where we listen as fiercely as we speak, where we argue with passion, but never lose sight of our shared humanity,” said Sen. William E. Sharer (R-1).
Lawmakers cited Kirk’s death and also that of former Democratic Speaker of the Minnesota House Melissa Hortman, who was shot to death on June 14 at her home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota along with husband Mark Hortman. Fifty-seven-year-old Luther Boelter was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
Boelter was also charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder after police said he shot and injured Democratic State Sen. John Hoffman and wife Yvette Hoffman earlier that day at their home near Champlin, Minnesota.
Before the session began, New Mexico lawmakers held a moment of silence for the victims of the shootings, and their families.
“I know that it shouldn’t matter what party or ideology Melissa or Charlie had, we should feel the same pit in our stomachs about every act of political violence, no matter who was murdered,” said Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-17).
In the House, legislators from both sides also spoke of the need to be civil in policy disagreement.
“The people of this state are demanding that we change course, to tone down the dangerous rhetoric that has seeped into our discourse,” said Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-49).
