Portales, NM – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Office contacted New Mexico Counties to facilitate a conference call with representatives from county commissions on Friday. All 33 counties were invited to participate, and Roosevelt County was one of several on the call. Roosevelt County Chair Shane Lee and Vice Chair Matthew Hunton both received an invitation to participate. The call was informational in nature, and the Governor said a similar call with cities was scheduled in the following weeks.
The Governor highlighted several of her administration’s top priorities and accomplishments from the session. Some of these included the significant funding increase for education, funding for local road projects, public safety legislation, and the clean energy transition legislation.
New Mexico Counties President Rebecca Long, the Lea County Commission Chair, emphasized some of the legislation that will assist counties. She specifically cited parts of HB6, which will provide compensating and internet sales taxes for local governments, as well as $1.5 million in new funding for mental health services in county detention centers, and almost $1 billion in capital outlay awards.
“At no time were we asked to rescind our sanctuary county resolutions,” stated Commissioner Lee. “I was glad President Long addressed the Sheriffs’ wishes to meet with the Governor’s Office and reinforced the importance of working together.”
Governor Lujan Grisham sited her former time as a county commissioner, and expressed a desire to work collaboratively with counties. The Governor plans to attend one of the upcoming NM Counties Legislative District meetings, and all of her cabinet secretaries are planning to attend a district meeting as well.
President Long solicited questions from commissioners prior to the call and posed some to Governor Lujan Grisham. One question was specific to SB8, the gun legislation that expands background checks required in New Mexico. The Governor clarified some of the elements of the new law and noted the misinformation being shared on this bill. The Governor’s Office will have fact sheets available on the new gun legislation.
“I really appreciated the Governor reaching out to the counties,” stated Commissioner Hunton. “It was a nice discussion about the session and cleared up some misinformation.”
