House committee cuts proposed alcohol tax increases

The alcohol department at a grocery store Albuquerque, NM CREDIT: Adria Malcolm for New Mexico In Depth

A nearly $1 billion tax package cleared the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Monday with 1-cent to 2-cent tax per drink increases on beer, wine and liquor instead of much larger rate hikes sought by advocates.

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Advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous people denounce Indian Affairs appointee

James Mountain, Cabinet Secretary Designate of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, speaks during American Indian Day at the State Capitol. Image by Bella Davis/ NMID

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s appointment of a former San Ildefonso Pueblo governor to lead the state’s Indian Affairs Department could be in peril as members of the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force, and a Navajo state senator, say they will fight his nomination.

Lawmakers tackle raising the alcohol tax

The alcohol department at a grocery store Albuquerque, NM. CREDIT: Adria Malcolm for New Mexico In Depth

New Mexicans die of alcohol-related causes at nearly three times the national average and alcohol is involved in more deaths than fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamines combined.

Politics trump health in NM’s response to alcohol crisis

New Mexico's alcohol epidemiologist, Annaliese Mayette, recommended the governor veto landmark alcohol legislation that expanded access to alcohol. It is unclear whether her recommendation made it to the governor.

In February 2021, as New Mexico lawmakers considered landmark legislation to loosen restrictions on alcohol sales, the state’s alcohol epidemiologist Annaliese Mayette set out to assess the bill.