The New Mexico legislature is just one of the ways that we advance civil liberties in our state. We aim to support bills that strengthen our rights guaranteed under the Constitution and defeat bills that threaten them. See below for our legislative priorities.

During the 2017 legislative session, we want to:

Protect your digital privacy. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) will require law enforcement to get a warrant before they can access your digital information.  SB 61 will provide protections for New Mexicans’ email, cell phone, and other electronic communications. Last year the Albuquerque Journal wrote an editorial in support of passing the ECPA. 

• SB 61, the Electronic Communications Protection Act is sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) and Rep. Jim Dines (R-Bernalillo). Read the bill here.

Reform solitary confinement. We want to drastically reduce the use of solitary confinement in New Mexico jails and prisons. The Isolated Confinement Act start with common sense reforms by banning the use of solitary confinement on vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant prisoners, and prisoners diagnosed with serious mental illnesses. 

• HB 175, the Isolated Confinement Act reducing use of solitary confinement is sponsored by Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Bernalillo). A similar bill, SB 185 is sponosered by Sen. Mary Kay Papen (D-Dona Ana). 

Protect and expand access to reproductive healthcare & support pregnant workers. Working with several partners, we will support legislation that will expand access to contraception in our rural state and protect contraception coverage protections granted by the Affordable Care Act. We’ll also be supporting the Pregnant Worker Accommodation Act, which will ensure pregnant women get the accommodations they need to continue working and supporting their families.

• HB 179, the Pregnant Worker Accomodation Act is sponsored by Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo). Read HB 179 here.
• HB 284, the Health Coverage for Contraception Act is sponsored by Rep. Debbie Armstrong (D-Albuquerque). Read the bill here.

Make sure hospitals put patients first. Patients in need of urgent or critical reproductive healthcare should not be forced to suffer because of a hospital’s religious affiliation or discriminatory policies. It is doctors and patients who should be making medical decisions based on the health needs and wishes of the patient. SB 282, called Put Patients First Act, will ensure that medical providers serving patients at New Mexico hospitals are able to provide care that meets medical standards of care, regardless of the hospital’s religious affiliation.

• SB 282, Put Patients First is sponsored by Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino. Read the bill here.

Pursue medical aid in dying. The End of Life Options Act would make it possible for terminally ill New Mexicans who have a prognosis of six months or less to live to choose the self-ingested medication that will bring about a peaceful death. 

• HB 171, the End of Life Options Act is sponsored by Rep. Debbie Armstrong (D-Albuquerque). Read the bill here.

Protect civil asset forfeiture. In 2015, New Mexico became a national leader in reforming the use of civil asset forfeiture, or “policing for profit.”  We may see legislation that would attempt to amend the reform efforts that limited the ability of law enforcement to take your property without a criminal conviction. 

Defeat “Tough-on-crime” legislation that doesn’t make New Mexico safer. As part of the NM SAFE coalition, the ACLU-NM will work to defeat increased criminal sentencing in New Mexico. We know that increasing penalties for crimes doesn’t deter criminals and doesn’t make New Mexicans safer. Increased sentencing is expensive and studies show that it is ineffective at reducing crime. We’ll work to defeat the attempts to bring back the death penalty, increase the Three-strikes bill, and attempts to introduce a teen curfew.

Support fiscal responsibility for increased criminal sentencing. Working with Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Dona Ana), we support a measure that requires any bill increasing criminal penalties to have a fiscal impact statement attached to it to ensure we are spending New Mexico's limited financial resources in a smart and responsible way.

Want breaking news and the latest updates on these bills and more? Join our Liberty Defense Team and you'll get the latest action alerts on these bills & more!

On January 20th, America watched a man assume the presidency who has, among other things, pledged to deport our undocumented neighbors, place our Muslim friends under aggressive surveillance, reauthorize torture as an interrogation tactic, and punish women for making decisions about their own bodies and health. Though he was duly elected under the laws governing our land, the majority of Americans rejected the racism, xenophobia, and sexism that were the very heart and foundation of his campaign.

There are now two options open to us moving forward. The first is a surrender to fatalism, where we disengage from the political process and allow an un-American and unconstitutional agenda to trample our cherished values of liberty, equality, and justice. The second option is to fight, to seize this moment and usher in a new age of collective action, patriotic dissent, and government accountability.

At the ACLU we choose the latter, as we have always done throughout our nearly 100 years of resisting injustice and fighting for change. In the next four years, we see an opportunity for the already vibrant community of change makers in New Mexico to grow and flourish as we stand in solidarity against rising tides of authoritarianism. We are personally committed as an organization to continue our work in this community not just defending our hard won liberties, but fighting with you to build a more free and just state for us all.

There are plenty of opportunities to join the fight for change right here in our own backyard. First, you can call your New Mexico legislators who are currently debating bills on key issues like digital privacy protection, criminal justice reform, reproductive freedom, and medical aid in dying. We must become fierce and fearless in our political engagement, holding our leaders accountable at every level, and demand laws and policies that actually improve the lives of everyday New Mexicans.

Second, you can help build community power by becoming active with an organization you believe in. Join a board, volunteer your time and resources, help organize events, fundraisers, and protests. We cannot be “We the People” if we remain separate and apart from one another. If the new administration makes good on promises to deploy deportation forces to our neighborhoods or force Muslims to enter into registries, strong community and interpersonal bonds will go a long way towards keeping our families safe.

Third, you can be a champion for truth. Speak out against falsehoods meant to sow distrust and divide us. Support local journalism. Stand by our courts. These critical institutions underwrite our democracy and our own president has repeatedly attacked their legitimacy. Without a free press, strong independent courts, and indeed even a consensus that truth and transparency itself are important, we cannot hold our government accountable.

Finally, we must be ever vigilant in our resistance. There are plenty of ways in which the new administration’s agenda could have a direct and immediate impact on our community. For example, should the new Department of Justice refuse to hold police departments accountable, our ongoing efforts to reform the Albuquerque Police Department could lose momentum or derail altogether. If Washington turns a blind eye to our civil rights, it will be up to us to defend them here in New Mexico with redoubled vigor.

In the words of American poet Clarissa Pinkola Estés, “We were made for these times.” We the People of New Mexico are proud, diverse, and strong. We will rise to the challenge of this administration, and set New Mexico apart as an example of what we can achieve when we reject the politics of fear and division and embrace our shared values of fairness, freedom and equality.

We’re ready for this. Are you?

Peter Simonson is the executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico.