Hi Friends,
It is over! The 2025 New Mexico Legislative Session has come to its official close as of last Friday. Technically, the legislative session officially ended a couple weeks ago on March 21, BUT, the time allotted to the Governor for her to either sign or veto bills remained until April 11th at 11:59 PM. At that time, every bill that has not been signed was automatically pocket vetoed.This is also when we find out what she actively vetoed, providing a message with her reasoning.
Now, we would like to share with you the official wrap up of the session this year. Forewarning, it’s not going to look amazing, but the reason you’re reading this and not just the overall list of signed vs. vetoed bills is so we can give you context. And some of that context is below with each bill, but the broader context of why not that many bills were passed this session and why it seems like so many of our priorities failed is going to require a bit more words (they’re worth it, hang in there with us).
FIRST OFF - a lot, almost most of the bills we introduced this year were brand new. Taking into account only our priority bills, we had 13 and out of those 13, eleven were new, never drafted before pieces of legislation. Passing bills requires time, especially when we’re talking about bills like Comprehensive Sex Ed or the Community Safety & Privacy Act.
SECONDLY, we’re showing you the good bills that passed and failed. If we also included the number of bad bills that passed vs failed, it would be a much more comforting list. This session was solid on defense; us and our partner organizations and champion legislators held the line as strongly as we could, continuing to ensure that NM remains as great as it is, even if it doesn’t get waves better.
LASTLY, our legislature just did not pass a lot of bills this year. Excluding memorials and resolutions, the legislature introduced 1,182 bills this year. Out of that number, only 160 passed. That’s only around a 13.5% passage rate. While we are very glad that so many bad bills never stood a chance in our mostly-protective Legislature there were a lot of great ideas that also never got off the ground!
Let’s talk more specifically about our wins and losses and what they mean for us.
SB417 - Confirmatory Adoptions
Protecting LGBTQ Families is Critical!
This bill streamlines the process of adoption for couples who use assisted reproduction to build their families. Many of them, mostly same-sex parents, face a higher likelihood of their parentage being called into question. This law ensures that these families are fully protected and recognized across all 50 states. It’s an especially important safeguard in a time of increased threats to marriage equality recognition.
SB16 - Semi-Open Primaries
What a victory!
Non-major party voters (like those registered as independent or “decline to state”) - which make up about 25% of New Mexico’s electorate - will now be able to vote in primary elections without changing their party registration. This opens up our democratic process and ensures more voices are heard earlier in the election cycle.
SB36 - Protection of Sensitive Personal Information
This is huge!
This essential bill strengthens privacy protections for personal information held by state agencies - like immigration status, gender identity, and public assistance data. It helps prevent identity-based targeting that can be used for malicious purposes and ensures vulnerable New Mexicans are safer when accessing services.
SB267 - Housing Application Fees
A major step toward housing justice!
This bill requires landlords to disclose all rental-related fees upfront, caps screening fees at $50, and limits late fees to 5% of delinquent rent. It’s a move toward more transparency, fairness, and stability for renters across the state.
HB9 - The Immigrant Safety Act
Making it as far as it ever has, this bill would have kept New Mexico out of the business of immigration detention, - a business that currently does not have to comply with federal care standards because of a loophole - disappointingly failed to pass this session. All people, including queer and transgender folks, face extremely unsafe conditions in these facilities - we need to remove our state’s involvement.
SB4 - Clear (Queer) Horizons Act
Affectionately referred to as the Queer Horizons Act (of course we would!). This bill was the first climate-forward piece of legislation created with groups like EQNM at the table, expanding the purpose & impact of how climate focused organizations do their work. SB4 would have created greenhouse gas emission reduction targets over the next 25 years, and had in its language to prioritize those communities across NM who overly carry the burden of the harmful effects these emissions cause. Unfortunately, it did not pass, but EQNM is glad to have been involved and is looking forward to participating in legislation like this in the future.
HJR18/SJR1 - Creating a Commission on Legislative Salaries
The first step in creating an equitable and fully representative legislature, this years’ joint resolution, meant to create a commission to begin working on what the process of paying our legislators should look like, did not pass. NM will remain as the only state in the country that does not pay its legislators, decreasing the chances of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, and economic statuses being able to run for these offices.
HB307 | SB420 - The New Mexico Community Safety and Privacy Act
This bill would’ve required online entities to get your consent before collecting, storing, or selling your data. It’s a critical protection - especially for queer and trans New Mexicans, immigrants, and those who have received or currently receive reproductive or gender-affirming care. We’re deeply disappointed this bill didn’t pass, but we’ll keep fighting to get it over the finish line next time.
HB430 - Health Data Privacy Act
Another key data privacy bill that fell short. HB430 aimed to ensure that health-adjacent apps (outside HIPAA protections) couldn’t sell, keep, or share your medical info without your explicit consent. It’s a major loss for healthcare privacy in our state.
HB526 - 16- and 17-Year-Old Voting Rights
This bill would’ve allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local and school board elections. Research shows that voting young leads to lifelong civic engagement. Young people - especially those affected by school policies - deserve a voice in who represents them.
SB258 - Comprehensive Sexual Health Education
This bill would have ensured that every student across New Mexico received comprehensive, inclusive, age-appropriate, and medically accurate sex education while preserving a parent’s right to opt-out. We believe every student - especially queer and trans youth - deserves access to this necessary, life-saving education. Unfortunately, this bill didn’t move forward this year.
We know it’s hard to see important bills die. But we’re proud of the progress we did make and we’re so grateful to our legislators and to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for championing protections for New Mexicans.
Stay tuned for more updates, actions you can take, and how you can join the movement to create the grassroots change NM needs!
