On Friday, New Mexico Democrat leaders in the state House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs Committee voted against a measure sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Little (D-Albuquerque) to mandate “increased sentencing for individuals convicted of trafficking controlled substances under Section 30-31-20 NMSA 1978 when the offense involves fentanyl.”
The bill passed the committee on a 6-3 vote, although it would have died if Republicans didn’t save it with their votes. Reps. Janelle Anyanonu (D-Albuquerque), Tara Lujan (D-Albuquerque), and Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe, Democrat Floor Leader) voted against the measure, some opposing it on the grounds that it could increase “incarceration.”
On Saturday, Democrats in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee tabled bills sponsored by Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis) that would increase penalties for drug traffickers (H.B. 107), including resulting in death from trafficked drugs and adding “fentanyl to methamphetamine, where now knowing or intentional exposure to either of these two drugs [to children] would represent prima facie evidence of child abuse” (H.B. 136).
The Democrats in the committee voted against the legislation, with Reps. Joann Ferrary (D-Las Cruces-Committee Chair), Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces-Committee Vice Chair), Liz Thomson (D-Albuquerque), and Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) opposing the measures, although Romero was absent for the last bill’s vote. Both votes in the committee killed the bills, with Reps. John Block (R-Alamogordo) and Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park) voting against tabling the life-saving legislation.
Ferrary claimed that since fentanyl, which is rarely prescribed, is technically a legal substance, it should not be included. Rubio claimed (wrongly) that since a drug addict who breastfeeds her baby could be charged under H.B. 136, she couldn’t support the legislation.
Despite Democrats being sponsors or co-sponsors of the legislation, Democrats still rejected the legislation, despite statistics showing that 65% of drug deaths in the state are due to fentanyl, per the New Mexico Department of Health, and New Mexico being the state with the eight-most drug-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Two milligrams of fentanyl is enough to kill someone, the Drug Enforcement Administration notes.
Rep. Little’s bill now goes to the House Judiciary Committee, while Reeb’s bills remain on the table in the Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the party affiliations of certain legislators, but those changes have been updated.
They really don’t want to do anything to interfere with their cash cow, it’s only lip service at best…. you can see it with any law to get tough on crime.
You nailed it,!
New Mexico Democrats are no different than Mexico Carteis. Some one is cashing in on this madness.
Pathetic…
You know who the hardcore communofascists are – they are the ones voting for the destruction of America by any means.
You know what other law was reportedly going to increase incarceration?
The “waiting period” gun law that punishes law abiding citizens and treats them like criminals by implying they are going to commit a crime because they are purchasing a firearm.
Maybe it just depends on whose getting locked up here… legal firearms owners? No biggie. Drug traffickers? Woaaah, pump the brakes, gotta keep them on the street!
You just fix demo ignorance.
If people can’t see the truth by now, that they really don’t give a rat’s A$$
about the people in this state, then there is no hope for them.
It’s all about holding on to their power, and lining their pockets with blood money, and your hard earned money.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and what is good, evil.”
May their fall from power be huge!