Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces

By ROBERT NOTT and GABRIELLE PORTER
The Santa Fe New Mexican

The House of Representatives nearly blasted two “tough-on-crime” bills across the finish line and up to the governor’s desk on the fourth floor of the Roundhouse on Wednesday evening, less than 18 hours from the legislative session’s end.

One of the measures — Senate Bill 96, increasing the penalty for second-degree murder — was on a list of 21 high-priority public safety initiatives Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham unveiled days before the session began. They ranged from prohibiting panhandling to cutting back on the capacity of semi-automatic weapons to raising to 21 the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic and automatic weapons.

SB 96 was one of few victories the governor can count from her broad gun-control and crimefighting package.

Earlier Wednesday, a ban on guns near polling places was sent to the governor after senators unanimously signed off on an amendment added by the House late Tuesday. Senate Bill 5 had slipped through the House on a narrow vote of 35-34 after an equally close vote to adopt a change exempting gun owners with valid concealed carry permits from the ban.

Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, one of the co-sponsors of SB 5, acknowledged after the Senate’s concurrence vote Wednesday the Legislature had done little to address gun violence.

“I think it’s important … to take a moment to realize we really didn’t do very much this session on guns. … Let’s not get too excited about what we’ve accomplished,” he said.

The only other gun safety bill in the governor’s package to pass both chambers this session imposes a seven-day waiting period for buying a firearm. The wait time was reduced from 14 days in the initial legislation.

Lujan Grisham sent lawmakers a message Tuesday afternoon imploring them to take action on public safety measures. “The clock is ticking, and I urge legislators to act on behalf of the New Mexicans they serve,” she said in a statement.

While the House’s approval was swift Wednesday night for SB 96 and Senate Bill 271, regarding pretrial detention of a suspect accused in multiple felony cases, there appeared to be no sense of urgency on the final night to approve as many bills as possible before the deadline at noon Thursday — as often happens in a session’s final hours.

The House adjourned around 8:30 p.m. with plans to reconvene 12 hours later, while the Senate tackled a handful of noncontroversial measures and adjourned around 9:30 p.m.

Still, House members from both parties lauded the passage of SB 96 on a vote of 49-18 and SB 271 with even more support — 57-10.

SB 96 increases the maximum penalty for second-degree murder to 18 years from 15 and increases the penalty for attempted second-degree murder to nine years from three.

SB 271, meanwhile, allows judges more leeway in deciding to order a felony suspect to be detained without bond until trial if the person previously had been released and was accused of committing another felony during that time.

Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, who has served as a prosecuting attorney, praised both bills on the House floor. Speaking of penalties for violent offenses, she said, “It is a slap in the face to victims when you tell them their loved one’s murder is only worth up to three years [in prison].”

“Let’s hold these people accountable when you take the life of another human being,” Reeb said, urging others to vote for the bill. 

SB 96 allows a judge discretion in sentencing, said Rep. Cynthia Borrego, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the bill on the House floor. 

Reeb led the charge in promoting SB 271, saying it will “really help fix this repeat-offender, revolving-door issue we keep hearing about.”

Rep. Art De La Cruz, D-Albuquerque, also voiced support for SB 271, saying, “It’s time we start to put some teeth into our laws.”

Both bills had full support from House Republicans, many of whom have tried unsuccessfully in past years to pass similar legislation.

The seven-day wait to purchase firearms and the ban on firearms within 100 feet of an election site were far more controversial. 

Opponents argued the polling place prohibition is another attack on the constitutional right to bear arms and said it would do little, if anything, to quell voters’ concerns.

Republican Rep. Bill Rehm of Albuquerque, a former police officer, said SB 5 “will do nothing from stopping a criminal from open carry or concealed carry in a polling place.”

He sought the exemption for concealed carry permit-holders because people with permits are unlikely to pose threats, he said on the House floor Tuesday night.

Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque, said in the Senate on Wednesday he was frustrated his own proposal to exempt permit-holders failed, but was proud of the measure’s bipartisan support.

Cervantes said he was in favor of the bill, but doesn’t believe guns at polling places has been a problem in New Mexico.

Another co-sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said he thinks the polling site gun ban is important, especially “with the election cycle we’re going into.”