SANTA FE – State lawmakers are sparring over whether to delay a legislative session that traditionally starts in mid-January, potentially deferring Democratic initiatives on cannabis, abortion rights and education funding as New Mexico deals with record-high levels of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
New Mexico on Thursday marked its highest daily count of confirmed cases and one of the highest daily death counts since the pandemic began. Health officials are reporting uncontrollable spread, noting that the positivity rate has surpassed 13%.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is scheduled Friday to address the situation. She is expected to impose tougher public health restrictions. Mandates already limit hours for certain businesses, prohibit gatherings of more than five people and require face coverings in public.
Legislative leaders are weighing whether to soldier on with the session in January by moving committee meetings to a spacious convention center to allow greater social distancing and accommodate public participation.
But some Democrats and Republicans would prefer a delay in response to surging infections statewide.
Republican House minority leader Jim Townsend of Artesia in a statement Thursday advocated for a delay until spring in hopes of greater public participation then.
“If New Mexicans are being told to skip Thanksgiving and Christmas with family members because of the risk, then we can surely delay the session,” Townsend said in the statement.
Democratic House speaker Brian Egolf said it is crucial for the Legislature to meet on time about pandemic relief efforts, and that arrangements are being made for meaningful public input.
“Our communities cannot afford a delay,” Egolf said in a statement.
At least one legislator has contracted the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
The Statehouse was closed to the public and lobbyists during a special session in June in which some Republican senators declined to wear masks.
State health officials have been trying to boost New Mexico’s testing capacity as a way to identify cases and curb spread. More than 1.3 million tests have been done.
In Santa Fe, grandfather Tony Gerlicz lined up Thursday to get a test before he and his wife visit their grandchildren in California around Thanksgiving. The line stretched about 200 cars, snaking up and down tight residential streets. Gerlicz sent his wife home, holding their place in line by standing on the street between two cars in the warm sun.
Gerlicz said the entire family is getting tests this week because “we want to put their minds at ease and ours as well.”
