By Diane D. Denish
Corner to Corner
diane@dianedenish.com
“Laws are like sausages. It is better not to see them being made.” The quote is attributed to Otto von Bismarck, the German statesman credited with unifying Germany.
I disagree — especially when it comes to lawmaking.
In today’s world of technology and transparency, it’s easier than ever to watch legislation move through the process. We can see what our elected senators and representatives say — and more importantly, who they are when the pressure is on. That was never clearer than during the 2025 regular session, when medical malpractice reform took center stage.
HB 99, sponsored by a bipartisan group of House members and led by Rep. Christine Chandler (D–Los Alamos), began and ended as a strong reform bill. It capped punitive damages and increased the standard required to file them.
Pre-filed before the session, HB 99 was referred to House Health and Human Services and House Judiciary. Despite an early attempt to weaken it, the bill passed both committees intact.
Credit goes to Rep. Chandler and co-sponsors Rep. Day Hochman-Vigil, Rep. Gail Armstrong, Rep. Sarah Silva, and Rep. Doreen Gallegos for having the guts to sponsor the original bill — and the grit to defend it.
Speaker Javier Martínez didn’t play games. He scheduled the bill promptly, and with 65 bipartisan votes, HB 99 passed the House with time to spare and headed to the Senate.
That’s where it became more challenging.
Senate President Pro Tem Peter Wirth (D–Santa Fe) assigned the bill to Senate Judiciary, chaired by Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D–Doña Ana), a medical malpractice attorney. The referral may have made procedural sense, but many watching believed the fix was in.
In committee, Sens. Cervantes and Katy Duhigg (D–Bernalillo) introduced eleven amendments aimed at weakening the bill. Five of Duhigg’s failed. Several of Cervantes’ passed, substantially undercutting the reforms. The weakened version cleared committee and moved to the Senate floor.
On the evening of Feb. 17, debate began.
Sen. Crystal Brantley (R–Elephant Butte), who represents seven southern New Mexico counties, offered an amendment to restore HB 99 to its original form. What followed was a revealing exchange. Cervantes, drawing on his legal expertise, pressed hard and attempted to frame reform as unreasonable. Brantley stood her ground, reminding colleagues she was not a lawyer — she was a senator representing rural communities living the daily reality of the doctor drain.
Then something remarkable happened.
Seven Democrats joined Republicans to pass Brantley’s amendment, stripping away the Judiciary Committee changes and restoring the bill.
Final passage was even more striking. Senators who had worked to weaken the legislation voted for it. The same bill that had drawn repeated amendments and sharp criticism passed 40–2, with Duhigg and Cervantes in the majority.
If you want to understand how the sausage gets made, this was a master class.
I’ve watched a lot of legislation over the years. This one stood out.
There are many to thank: the bipartisan coalition that restored the bill; Rep. Chandler and her House colleagues; Speaker Martínez; Governor Lujan Grisham for her persistence; Think New Mexico and Patients Primero for their advocacy; and most importantly, New Mexicans who refused to be silent.
They called their legislators, shared their stories at town halls. They pushed back when NM trial lawyers insisted malpractice laws weren’t part of the problem.
Democracy isn’t always tidy. The process can be frustrating, revealing, even entertaining. But when citizens engage, transparency works.
Sometimes you should watch the sausage being made.