Senate Raises Penalty for Aggravated Battery on Officers, Orders PFAS Study; Several Memorials Pass
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Summary
The Senate passed House Bill 61 to increase aggravated battery penalties for assaults on peace officers, approved a PFAS implementation study memorial after debate about regulatory scope, and passed four additional Senate memorials addressing youth violence, overdose prevention, CYFD funding clarity and radiation exposure compensation.
The New Mexico Senate on Wednesday approved several measures on final passage and adopted multiple memorials addressing public health and safety.
On criminal penalties, the chamber approved House Bill 61 to raise the penalty for aggravated battery against a peace officer from a third‑degree felony to a second‑degree felony to align penalties with other violent conduct, sponsor Senator Greggory Maestas said. Senator Joseph Cervantes voiced support and credited Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story and Representative Reed for work on the measure; the Senate recorded a final vote of 37‑0 in favor.
On environmental health policy, the Senate passed House Joint Memorial 3, which asks the New Mexico Environment Department to convene stakeholders and prepare a report on implementation of the PFAS Protection Act. Senator Stewart told the Senate the memorial directs departmental attention and budget priority for PFAS work and requests an interim report to an interim committee and a final report to the governor and legislature. The memorial’s language and potential interaction with Environmental Improvement Board rulemaking drew questions from Senator Townsend, who cautioned against using memorial language to expand regulatory authority; Stewart replied the memorial is a study and stakeholder convening, not a delegation of rulemaking power. The memorial passed by recorded hand vote, 22‑13.
Also on the calendar, the Senate quickly approved four memorials: Senate Memorial 20, calling for a statewide youth violence summit and community‑based intervention strategies (Lopez; passed 35‑0); Senate Memorial 21, requesting a formal study into a statewide overdose prevention program (Byrd; passed 35‑0); Senate Memorial 22, asking the Legislative Finance Committee to convene an LFC/DFA/provider working group to map CYFD funding flows and improve transparency for domestic violence survivor services (Charlie; passed 34‑0); and Senate Memorial 27, urging state departments to promote expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to assist New Mexicans affected by atomic testing and uranium mining (Steinborn; passed 34‑0).
In other business, the clerk read a governor’s legislative message describing a proposed "Gallos de Nuevo Mexico Protection and Honor Act," which would tighten penalties for organized animal‑fighting rings and create a rooster rehabilitation and sanctuary fund. The Senate finished the evening by approving a unanimous‑consent request to move House Joint Memorial 2 to the president’s table and adjourning until 8:30 a.m. the next day.
Next steps: Measures that passed will be processed per legislative and enrollment procedures; the memorials direct agencies and committees to study and report back per the language adopted on the floor.
