Governor enacts Ruidoso fire relief, takes another shot at legislature

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced in a news release that she had signed the lone bill that emerged from her July 18 special legislative session on public safety.

The bill, commonly referred to as the feed bill because it funds the legislature’s activities during a session, contained a provision to provide $100 million to support recovery efforts following the South Fork and Salt fires, as well as ongoing flooding. 

“The legislature’s failure to prioritize public safety for New Mexicans during the special session is deeply disappointing,” said Lujan Grisham in the news release. “However, I am relieved that we managed to secure aid for critical recovery efforts in communities damaged by fire and flooding.” 

Funds for fire relief are set to be distributed as follows:

• $10 million for the Mescalero Apache Tribal government to utilize for damages or losses. 
• $10 million for the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department for damages from fires, flooding and debris flow, and mitigation efforts in the impacted areas. 
• $10 million for the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to assist residents as they apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and submit insurance claims.  
• $70 million for zero-interest reimbursable loans to local governments to kick-start funding for public infrastructure projects approved for federal public assistance. 

Lujan Grisham again criticized her fellow Democrats, who hold House and Senate majorities in the legislature, for rejecting her crime package.  

The governor called on lawmakers to ban panhandling in medians, make selling fentanyl a capital offense (with the same severity as murder), ease the process for courts to commit people accused of crimes involuntarily, oblige police departments to report crime statistics better, and a crack down on organized crime, among other public safety topics. However, the Democratic lawmakers rejected the whole package, many saying the bills would make ineffective laws.