The 2026 legislative session will be called to order today (Tuesday) at noon. This is a short session scheduled to last only 30 days. This anomaly in our state constitution restricts the agenda to budget matters as well as those items specifically requested by the governor. Forntunately, none of the horrible bills we had priortiezed last session made it to the governor’s desk. As of this writing, the governor has not requested that any changes to New Mexico’s sex offender registration laws be considered. Nonetheless, some of the bills that did not pass in 2025 can still be added to the governor’s legislative agenda in 2026. We will be present in the Capitol to monitor the session.
We have information from reliable sources that there will be a constitutional amendment introduced to make it easier for a district judge to deny bail (conditions of release) for more defendants. Since the proposal has not been introduced yet, we do not know what our position will ultimately be. We can say that we are deeply concerned about holding those accused of committing crimes in detention without bail. The right to bail is enshrined in the United States Constitution as well as the New Mexico Constitution. We will keep you informed.
House Bill 69 (HB 69) seeks to modify the statute of limitations for civil actions related to sexual abuse. This proposed legislation would amend Section 37-1-30 NMSA to allow alleged victims to recestitate the already expired statute of limitations for civil actions due to childhood sex abuse until they have reached 58 years of age. We will oppose.
House Bill 74 (HB 74) would eliminate the 10-year statute of limitations on prior felonies. We have not fully analyzed the proposal as of this writing. We will keep you informed.
House Bill 79 (HB 79) seeks to make it easier for the state to revoke a person’s probation. The language proposed in HB 79 would reduce the burden of proof to a preponderance of the evidence. This legal standard is inadequate and is not appropriate in a criminal proceeding.
These are previous bills that we oppose and that continue to cause us concern. We will work to derail any of these bills again in 2026 if they should resurface.
- Human Trafficking Changes: This proposal died. The bill would have amended a number of statutes regarding human trafficking.
- Non-Consensual Touching Clarification: This proposal died.
- Increase Penalties For Certain Crimes: This proposal died. The bill sought to revise the criminal code to allow the death penalty for certain offenses regarding criminal sexual penetration and human trafficking.
- Chemical Castration Of Some Sex Offenders: We are elated that this legislation died. This legislation has been rejected more than once.
- Time Limit For Prosecuting Certain Crimes.