NM Gov. will add vaccine policy to Oct. 1 special session agenda
Senate Majority leader previews four bills slated for consideration
| Source NM
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New Mexico state Democratic leadership plans to bring forward at least four bills for the Oct.1 special legislative session — including one intended to insulate the state from federal changes to vaccination policies.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the session earlier this month and said it would be geared primarily at addressing impacts from the Congressional Republican spending bill signed into law by Trump this summer. The session start date coincides with a possible shutdown of the federal government. State Republicans have since pushed to expand the agenda to include topics such as interstate medical compacts, but have faced resistance from Senate Democrats.
However, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) told Source NM in a call Tuesday that one of the bills that leadership intends to bring will allow the New Mexico Department of Health to “set their own standards.”
That move comes as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. upends federal health policies.
“The federal standards are being thrown all over the place,” Wirth said. “As we go into COVID season and flu season, we’ve got to make sure vaccines are available based on the recommendations of our health folks, not tied to the federal standards.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Deputy Communications Director Jodi McGinnis Porter confirmed to Source NM in an email that vaccines will be on the agenda for the special session.
“We can confirm that it will be on the call,” she wrote. “But we don’t have the exact language yet.”
Additional bills, Wirth said, will include ones replacing a federal tax credit poised to end at the end of the calendar year; making changes to the state’s rural health care fund; and a general budget bill including money for state agencies and public media stations.
In his first interview with Source NM since Sept. 11 bomb threats to his home and office, Wirth said no additional security measures will be in place for the upcoming session, noting the Roundhouse bans weapons and requires people to enter through metal detectors.
“I certainly feel safer here, and I know the public does as well,” Wirth said. “Having said that, though, this is a challenging time and we’re certainly gonna be vigilant. ”
Wirth also held firm in his opposition to adding medical compacts to the Oct. 1 session.
“I do support the medical compacts — I think that’s priority number one, and we’re going to get that done in January and work hard between now and then to make it happen,” Wirth said. “But it’s just not ready to go at this point in the special session.”
The exact timing for Oct. 1 special session is variable, but he hopes to gavel out “in a couple of days.”
A closer look at the proposals
For the targeted tax credit, lawmakers would appropriate about $177 million in order to try to prevent rising health insurance costs from a tax credit under the Affordable Care Act, Wirth said, which is also being debated at the federal level.
“We can try and hold New Mexicans harmless, and what I mean by that is keep them in the same place they would be if this tax credit weren’t being rolled back,” Wirth said.
The second bill would make some changes to the state’s Rural Healthcare Delivery Fund, established in 2023, and paying out $80 million between 2024 and 2026 for new services in counties with a population fewer than 100,000.
Wirth said the changes would allow for the fund to support current health care programs and allow for greater participation by removing the population limit.
“There’s lots of rural pockets and larger counties, and we want to make sure that those funds can be used for that rural health care,” he said.
Finally, the budget bill will include at least a $20 million appropriation to the New Mexico Health Care Authority for technology upgrades and to address the new federal requirements.
A variety of other appropriations remain that lack solid figures, Wirth said, including funds to address changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); additional behavioral health work in the courts; and funding for public television and radio stations after the federal cuts.
“What you’re going to see in this special session is us stepping up to make sure that the basic support net stays in place, especially when it comes to food and healthcare,” Wirth said.
The special session is only ”step one” and more priorities will be addressed in the regular January session, he said, such as juvenile justice and the medical compact questions.
“We’re going to be back in January for step two, and I think we’re going to be dealing with this in sessions for the next number of years to come,” he said.
Danielle Prokop covers the environment and local government for Source NM. Her coverage has delved into climate crisis on the Rio Grande, water litigation and health impacts from pollution. She is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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