Rabbi Celia Surget of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, second from right, shares a laugh with, from left, Rabbi Berel Levertov of the Santa Fe Jewish Center, Rabbi Jack Shlachter of the Los Alamos Jewish Center and Juan M. Dircie, director of the Jewish Community Relations Coalition of New Mexico, during a panel discussion as part of Jewish Community Day at the state Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Matt Dahlseid/The New Mexican
Santa Fe New Mexican Staff Report:
Shots, shots, shots: Typically, when lawmakers refer to a bill as a “simple” proposal, they’re setting themselves up for hours of debate and dozens of questions.
That wasn’t the case for a vaccine bill that flew through the House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday.
House Bill 156 would repeal the sunset clause of Senate Bill 3, passed during an October special session to authorize the state Department of Health to set vaccination recommendations independent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s powerful vaccine advisory committee.
In other words, “That would allow the state to permanently promulgate its own vaccine guidelines so that we’re no longer waiting on federal agencies,” said Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, D-Albuquerque.
The bill does not mandate vaccines for adults or compromise existing religious exemptions for vaccines, Rep. Jenifer Jones, a Deming Republican and registered nurse, confirmed during Wednesday’s meeting.
“It’s really simple: It’s about access,” Jones said.
The bill comes after a confusing few months of federal vaccine policy changes.
The state Health Department in January broke with federal guidance on childhood vaccinations, after the CDC reduced the number of vaccines recommended for all children. The agency has continued to recommend families adhere to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ immunization schedule, which recommends 15 vaccines for all children.
Call for action on spills: A coalition of conservation groups called on lawmakers Wednesday to address oil and gas spills, which they said is a problem that could get even worse if Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s push for the reuse hydraulic fracturing wastewater is approved.
A report by WildEarth Guardians released Wednesday, using state data, found there were 38,153 spills in 2025. Although the number has gone down, the volume of pollutants spilled has been increasing, advocates said. The vast majority of the spills are on public lands in Eddy and Lea counties.
Melissa Troutman, climate and health advocate with WildEarth Guardians and the author of the report, said a few companies are responsible for much of the pollution. Some of the largest spills, she added, are happening at fracking wastewater facilities.
“Concentrating toxic waste does not make it safer,” she said. “It actually raises the stakes when things go wrong.”
The report outlines 10 steps for lawmakers and regulators to take, including rejecting the governor’s proposal to allow for the reuse of what’s often called “produced water”, a byproduct of fracking. A native of Pennsylvania, Troutman said she has seen it result in worker illnesses, “radioactive riverbeds contaminated by treated produced water,” and state and local governments on the hook for cleanup when companies go bankrupt.
Another step the report recommends is making penalties for liquid oil and gas spills, which have been illegal since 2021, mandatory rather than discretionary. Troutman said the lack of enforcement means there is no real deterrent.
“The issue isn’t lack of legal authority,” said Ana Martinez, district legislative aide to Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe. “It’s lack of enforcement.”
Burglary change passes: A bill inspired by the overturning last year of a Santa Fe murder conviction passed the Senate overwhelmingly Wednesday.
Senate Bill 100 would change the definition of “structure” in the burglary statute to include a “protected space enclosed to the degree that it is capable of confining people or property and creates the expectation of privacy against an unauthorized intrusion.”
Joseph Jones was convicted in 2023 in the 2018 killing of Robert Romero. Prosecutors said Jones entered Romero’s back portal and fatally shot him. Jones was convicted of first-degree murder; however, his conviction was overturned in 2025 when the state Supreme Court found that entering the portal did not constitute aggravated burglary, an element of Jones’ first-degree murder charge. Prosecutors have filed amended charges.
“This is a technicality that defies common sense and leaves families vulnerable,” said Sen. Cindy Nava, D-Bernalillo, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Nava said the bill is about “the right to feel safe in the most private areas of our lives.”
The bill passed 32-4 after a lengthy debate. Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, presented a hypothetical: Would it be first-degree murder if he were shot and killed in front of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi?
That depends, Trujillo replied.
Sharer then criticized Senate Bill 17, a gun control measure scheduled for a Senate committee hearing later Wednesday.
“If I can be shot just outside my door and the murderer not be charged with murder — holy cow, Mr. President, I think we need to completely change SB 17 into mandatory firearms ownership,” Sharer said. “Mandatory!”
New Mexico Jewish Community Day: Dozens of members of the Jewish community gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday to celebrate the culture and contributions of Jewish New Mexicans.
The hosting organizations included the Jewish Community Relations Coalition of New Mexico, Santa Fe Jewish Center and New Mexico Friends of Israel Caucus.
Others, who said they are part of “excluded Jewish organizations,” gathered in protest, passing out a handout about anti-Zionism and holding a pro-Palestinian rally outside, where they chanted in support of ending the “siege on Palestine.”
Protesters included JVP Albuquerque, New Mexico Jews for Free Palestine, Santa Fe Jews for Justice and Albuquerque Tzedek Collective.
Bipartisan kudos for retiree: Deputy State Treasurer Janice Barela is stepping down as of March 1, the Treasurer’s Office announced Wednesday.
“Deputy Janice Barela is an amazing woman that I call a confidant and friend,” state Treasurer Laura Montoya said in a statement. “Her professionalism, institutional knowledge, and commitment to effective governance will leave a lasting impact on me, the STO, and the New Mexicans we serve.”
Montoya’s office said in a news release Barela, a Republican and former Torrance County manager, served alongside her “as part of STO’s historic female-led and bipartisan executive leadership duo.”
Quote of the day: “When she was 5 years old, she started telling jokes, and she was like, ‘Carrie Hamblin, Carrie Hamlin, Carrie hamster.’ … And so then when I became elected, she now calls me ‘Senator hamster.’ —Sen. Carrie Hamblen, D-Las Cruces, introducing a fifth grader.
Hamblin then rolled up her shirt sleeve to show fellow lawmakers a hamster tattoo she got that the girl designed for her. “The only thing she didn’t add was the hair,” Hamblin said.