The Legislative Council approved interim work plans for its committees on a unanimous voice vote, authorizing several out‑of‑town meeting dates and modest budgets for outside experts and facilitators.

The approvals matter because the interim committees set oversight priorities for the year and may request out‑of‑state travel or contract experts whose fees require council authorization. Council members flagged several items for additional attention before and after the vote.

Council members heard brief presentations from staff for each interim committee, including the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee, Courts, Corrections and Justice, Water and Natural Resources, Investments and Pensions Oversight (IPOC), Science, Technology and Telecommunications, and others. Several committees requested travel approval for October meetings outside Santa Fe and small outside‑expert budgets: Xander Dawson, lead staff for the health committee, listed implementation oversight of 2025 legislation and requested $10,000 for out‑of‑state expert testimony. Sean Dolan, presenting for the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, outlined plans for corrections oversight and indicated the committee requested travel days for facility tours but no outside expert budget.

Committee staff described a range of planned topics: Medicaid and federal funding oversight, corrections and juvenile justice reviews, rural economic development, radioactive and hazardous materials oversight tied to federal interactions, public school capital outlay monitoring, broadband and AI oversight, and a new Federal Funding Stabilization Subcommittee to track federal funds. Several staff asked the council to approve meeting sites in Gallup, Artesia, Taos, NMSU and Las Cruces for October meetings.

Council service staff also sought authorization for two memorial‑related items: up to $15,000 to contract a facilitator for the Senate Memorial 2 wildfire study group and authority to pay mileage and per diem for legislators appointed to an education data governance and artificial intelligence working group created by House Memorial 2. Staff said both requests would be paid from the interim expenses appropriation in House Bill 1.

After members raised follow‑ups — for example, Senator Gallegos asked that the Courts, Corrections and Justice agenda include a discussion of the Behavioral Health Reform and Investment Act of 2025 related to “harm to self and others,” and other members urged committees to include both sides of contentious issues — the council voted to approve the work plans and the memorial‑related funding and travel allowances. The council also asked staff to provide a post‑interim accounting of expert‑budget spending.

Less critical operational actions taken during the meeting included appointment of three superintendents to the Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force — Rhiannon Chavez (Cuba), Steve Carlson (Central Consolidated) and Ignacio Ruiz (Las Cruces) — which the council approved without objection.

What’s next: committees will begin their interim meetings, some outside Santa Fe in October, and staff indicated they will return to council for budget or scope adjustments if necessary.