The New Mexico legislature is just one of the ways that we advance civil liberties in our state, and we spend a significant amount of time engaging in the legislative process each year.
We aim to support bills that strengthen our rights guaranteed under the Constitution and defeat bills that threaten them. See below for the legislation we're supporting this year.
Check out our 2019 Legislative Advocacy Guide which includes information on how to volunteer to help pass our legislative priorities this session.
New Mexico is one of only a handful of states without any meaningful way to clear past arrest or conviction records. People with criminal records face enormous barriers to employment, safe housing, and myriad other “collateral consequences of conviction” as a result.
Solitary confinement is widely understood to exacerbate, or even create, mental illness particularly among vulnerable populations. However, the practice is widespread in New Mexico’s prisons and jails.
Felony disenfranchisement traces its origins to the racist Jim Crow laws after the Civil War and has a disproportionate impact on people of color. As of 2017, over 24,000 New Mexicans were not eligible to vote due to felony convictions.