We have less than 20 hours to go in this legislative session - and there is so much left to do.
If you haven’t followed a New Mexico legislative session, a lot can get done in the last 24 hours, and we'll send out a full report over the weekend.
Some great policies have been developed and moved through the processes, and it's even better that some great ones will still get over the finish line. I can’t wait to share with you all that list of bold policies when it’s over.
But right now, we just have to say a few things about this session:
This legislative session is not the first to be full of rampant sexism, racism, and homophobia, but this time it was much more public - this time it happened under a spotlight.
No doubt it came to an awful boiling point last evening on the Senate floor during debate about Paid Sick Leave. But it was just that, a boiling point, not an isolated incident.
This is the most diverse legislature we’ve ever seen in New Mexico. The House is majority women, we have our first African American Senator, six openly gay and lesbian legislators across both chambers, and we've made huge strides toward a more representative legislature.
But we all know, when the balance of power begins to shift, those who have always held it start to grasp on to the past even harder - often in the worst ways.
In this session, we have seen committee members ask a Cabinet Secretary nominee if her race would prevent her from doing a good job. We have seen a committee member call the cops on a black woman who was supporting a bill - because she didn’t like the things she said. We saw the same representative accuse our own EQNM staff of “blasting and disrespecting law enforcement” after sharing his own very real, very specific story of a harmful incident with a police officer.
Women, queer, and BIPOC legislators have been denied time to present their bills in committee. Those who were allowed have been belittled, demeaned, and disrespected in some of the most abusive ways.
Though usually more subtle, last night’s abuse of the President ProTemp Mimi Stewart on the Senate Floor was in fact that boiling point.
The response, the policies we have all worked so hard on, and the next steps are still being developed. But right now, we have to be clear - we are grateful for all of those legislators standing strong - exhausted though they may be - on behalf of our communities.