NEW MEXICO

Governor puts session focus on public safety

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tasked lawmakers to come up with public safety solutions amid a persistently high violent crime rate that is twice the national average and has left many communities on edge.

She delivered her State of the State address on Jan. 21, kicking off a 60-day legislative session in which curbing crime and boosting child wellbeing will be top priorities. It’s likely the last chance for her to tackle big legislative initiatives before she terms out of office in 2026.

In a speech that touched on everything from making child care affordable to addressing climate change, the governor kept going back to public safety. She noted that one third of New Mexicans say either they or a loved one has been the victim of a serious crime.

“Everyone in this room knows that crime is out of control in New Mexico,” Lujan Grisham said. “Even our public safety professionals agree — we’re in a state of crisis.”

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In outlining her proposals, the governor asked lawmakers to clear the way for bankrolling the efforts. As the nation’s No. 2 oil-producing state, New Mexico is flush with cash from petroleum production that will help to foot some of the bill.

Leading Democratic legislators also are proposing the creation of a $1 billion trust to underwrite future spending on addiction and mental health treatment to rein in crime and homelessness. Companion legislation might compel some people to receive treatment.

Lujan Grisham also voiced her support for holding people who are deemed dangerous in custody pending trial and toughening laws to ensure repeat offenders are held accountable. She said it’s a small group of repeat offenders who wreak a large percentage of havoc.

WYOMING

K-12 cellphone restriction dies

CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Senate on Jan. 22 rejected a measure that would have required local school boards to craft a cellphone policy to restrict use during instructional time.

The bill, titled “Ban on cell phone use in schools,” died in a 17-11 vote on the Senate floor. Bill co-sponsor Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, said the bill would not have dictated to local districts what their policy would say, but only that the districts have one.

Citing issues like cyberbullying and increased anxiety and depression, the former teacher said the bill would include exemptions for emergencies.

Senate President Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, asked fellow senators what is happening in schools such that a teacher can’t simply take a phone away or send a student to the principal for violations. Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, said he believes it is the parents’ purview to restrict access to technology, saying the bill would “further displace the primacy of the parents.”

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However, Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, voiced support for SF 21, saying that in a school district he represents, several parents insisted on their child having constant access to their phone.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, said that when it is the parents who are “causing chaos,” or in cases of “competing sets of parents,” the bill would offer an “extra backup” for schools who wish to restrict cellphone use during instructional time.

Senate says no to preferred pronouns

CHEYENNE — The state Senate unanimously passed a bill out of committee to prohibit Wyoming from requiring anyone to refer to someone else by their preferred pronoun.

Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 29 that the bill, “Compelled speech is not free speech,” was brought to her by a constituent, and “simply states … that the state and its political subdivisions shall not compel or require an employee to refer to another employee using that employee’s preferred pronouns.”

Hutchings said there are people who use pronouns that are “pretty much made up, and would be hard for any employee to try to keep up with in the workplace.”

Ben Moritz, executive director of the Wyoming Community College Commission, said that while his organization did not have an official position on the bill, he had heard concerns that the bill could have a chilling effect on academic discourse and hiring procedures.

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Sara Burlingame, executive director of Wyoming Equality, said that the bill is another in a line of bills introduced this session that fundamentally promote “bullying.”

Nathan Winters with Wyoming Family Alliance spoke in support of the proposal.

“It is fine for one to believe something about themselves, even if it doesn’t line up with the reality,” Winters said. “Yet, when they compel someone else to acquiesce to their own belief, that is problematic because it forces that individual into what they would believe to be a lie.”

MONTANA

House OKs transgender bathroom ban

Montana’s Republican-controlled House on Jan. 15 endorsed a ban on transgender people using bathrooms in public buildings that do not align with their sex assigned at birth — a change that would complicate daily life for two fellow lawmakers.

The move came a month after Montana legislators rejected a more narrow rule that would have kept transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr out of women’s restrooms in the state Capitol on the heels of her return from a legislative exile.

Zephyr and nonbinary Rep. SJ Howell pleaded with their GOP colleagues to reject the proposal and to stop labeling trans people as a threat to women without evidence supporting the claim.

“Trans people walk through the state of Montana afraid enough already,” Zephyr said. “Leave trans people alone. Let me be the woman I’m happy to be. Let me live my life.”

Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, a Republican sponsoring the bill, insisted that it’s not meant to be exclusionary but to preserve safe spaces for women.

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Republicans pushed through the bill in a 58-42 party-line vote over strong Democratic opposition.

Under the bill, trans people could not use restrooms, changing rooms and sleeping areas that align with their gender identity in public buildings, schools, prisons, jails and programs for domestic violence victims.

People could sue a facility for not preventing transgender people from using a certain restroom or changing room. But they could recover only nominal damages, generally $1. The entity could be required to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees, though.

Zephyr warned the legal component of the bill might lead someone to accost a person who they don’t think is “woman enough,” which she said could be dangerous for everyone using public facilities.

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