Cannabis background checks, competency to stand trial changes

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – If you’ve been keeping track of the bills in the Roundhouse, you might notice that a bill to implement background checks for cannabis sellers has been delayed. Now it’s back on the schedule for discussion Saturday, February 3 along with a few other bills.

Cannabis background checks

House Bill 226 is scheduled for debate in the House Health and Human Services Committee. The bill, sponsored by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, would help ensure the state’s Cannabis Control Division gets background checks for would-be cannabis sellers. KRQE News 13 explored the issue in a previous investigation.

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Criminal competency

Saturday, lawmakers are also set to discuss a bill that would change how the state decides if an accused individual is mentally competent to stand for trial.

House Bill 233, sponsored by two Democratic lawmakers, could allow some non-competent defendants to live within their communities, rather than spending time in jail or a treatment institution, according to expert analysis presented in a Legislative Finance Committee report. The bill could address the “revolving door” of crime by allowing more individuals to receive mental health treatment, but one challenge in implementing the bill could be a lack of healthcare providers to offer treatment, according to the analysis.

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