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.
Category: New Mexico In Depth
Lawmakers tackle raising the alcohol tax
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.
Proposed office of alcohol prevention steps up ambition, but is short on vision
New Mexico Department of Health asked the legislature for $5 million to build an Office of Alcohol Prevention and would expand the staff to 13.
Some experts say the plan isn’t enough to handle the crisis.
Politics trump health in NM’s response to alcohol crisis
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.
Lawmakers protected themselves when redistricting, report finds
Did New Mexico lawmakers protect themselves when redrawing political district maps making legislative elections less competitive?
Legislators consider key questions on alcohol tax reforms
New Mexico’s rate of alcohol related deaths ranks among the worst in the nation. Lawmakers are debating how much the state should tax alcohol.