Even as several gun control bills remain pending on the House floor, the governor is pushing lawmakers to approve a bill that would amend how courts address competency and behavioral health treatment. He admitted that he really wanted to.
SANTA FE, N.M. — One week after the end of the 30-day legislative session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham may call a special session to get more public safety bills across the finish line. It's been a week since I suggested that there was.
Even as several gun control bills remain pending on the House floor, the governor is pushing lawmakers to approve a bill that would amend how courts address competency and behavioral health treatment. He admitted that he really wanted to.
A “revolving door” typically refers to criminals who are arrested, conditionally released before trial, and then re-arrested for committing further crimes. The state Legislature approved a bill this year to address some of the problem, but law enforcement leaders say there is a revolving door of people arrested, deemed incompetent to stand trial, and then released onto the streets. This includes suspects who are arrested again.
State leaders hope to bridge the gap in the system, but changing state law is only part of the solution.
“Right now, we're doing the same thing over and over again, just letting people take advantage of the system without any real support, and it's not good for the community,” said Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman. ” he said.
Bregman believes the state Legislature is on the right track with Senate Bill 16. The bill would allow judges to order certain low-level suspects into behavioral health treatment to restore their competency and make them fit to stand trial.
“A huge number of cases are dismissed because people are incompetent and cannot help defend themselves,” Bregman said. “And that's not how our criminal justice system works.”
It's a problem that even New Mexico's top public defender acknowledges needs to be resolved.
“It's important that people know that treatment, not incarceration, is not just about being nice to the person being accused,” Chief Public Defender Bennett Bauer said. “That’s really what builds community safety.”
Both Bregman and Bauer suggest court-ordered treatment may be helpful.
“We need to intervene as a community, and a lot of that is stepping in and providing support to lift people up,” Bauer said.
Albuquerque City Council members expressed support for the proposal during Wednesday's meeting, but not before addressing the elephant in the room.
“We don't have a health care system that can even handle something like this,” said Albuquerque City Councilwoman Nicole Rogers. “Who's going to do these psychiatric evaluations? We don't have enough health care providers, we don't have enough facilities for people to go.”
Bauer said it's a good thing SB 16 died in the Roundhouse because he believes lawmakers and law enforcement leaders need more time to resolve these medical capacity issues. Ta.
“We will create treatment capacity in New Mexico's 33 counties while creating a court system that affirms the importance of community safety,” Bauer said.
It remains unclear whether the governor will actually call a special session to pass this bill.
But Bregman and Bauer suggested the special session wouldn't give lawmakers enough time to get the issue right from the start. They believe this is something lawmakers should work on during next year's 60-day session.
