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2021 New Mexico legislative session

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2021 New Mexico legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 19 , 2021

Session end:    March 20, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Mimi Stewart (D)

House Speaker
Brian Egolf (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Peter Wirth (D)
House: Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Gregory A. Baca (R)
House: James Townsend (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions


In 2021, the New Mexico State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 19 and adjourn on March 20.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Democrats won a 27-15 majority in the Senate and will maintain a majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democrat state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, New Mexico was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The New Mexico State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, New Mexico was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the New Mexico state House and state Senate.
  • New Mexico was one of 22 Democrat state government trifectas.
  • Louisiana's governor was Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham.

    • Leadership in 2021

    New Mexico State Senate

    New Mexico House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    New Mexico was one of 22 Democrat state government trifectas at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    New Mexico was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the New Mexico State Legislature in the 2021 legislative session.

    New Mexico State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 27
         Republican Party 15
    Total 42

    New Mexico House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 46
         Republican Party 24
    Total 70

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Noteworthy legislation

    HB 2: Marijuana legalization

    See also: History of marijuana ballot measures and laws

    On April 12, 2021, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed HB 2, which legalized the purchase and possession of up to two ounces of marijuana by adults ages 21 and over beginning January 1, 2022. The legislation also established a regulatory and licensing structure for the cultivation, manufacture, and retail sale of marijuana.[1] The law requires the state to begin issuing commercial licenses no later than January 1, 2022, and to begin commercial sales no later than April 1, 2022.[2]

    Following the passage of the legislation, Lujan Grisham said, "We are going to increase consumer safety by creating a bona fide industry. We’re going to start righting past wrongs of this country’s failed war on drugs. And we’re going to break new ground in an industry that may well transform New Mexico’s economic future for the better."[2]

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in New Mexico after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in New Mexico after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in New Mexico state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 25 standing committees in New Mexico's state government, including 9 state Senate committees and 16 state House committees.

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the New Mexico Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XIX of the New Mexico Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in New Mexico

    The New Mexico Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a legislative process and a state constitutional convention.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the New Mexico State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 36 votes in the New Mexico House of Representatives and 22 votes in the New Mexico State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session of the state legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. A convention is held if the question receives a simple majority of the vote. Voters must also ratify amendments proposed by the convention.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of New Mexico.

    New Mexico Party Control: 1992-2025
    Eighteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R D D D D D D D D D

    Historical Senate control

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the New Mexico State Senate was held by Democrats. The table below shows the partisan history of the New Mexico State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    New Mexico State Senate election results: 1992-2020

    Party 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20
    Democrats 27 25 24 23 27 25 26 27
    Republicans 15 17 18 19 15 17 16 15

    From 1989 to 2020, Democrats held consistent control of the chamber. Throughout the period, Democrats controlled between 24 and 28 seats, while Republicans controlled between 14 and 18 seats.[3] Democrats won the 28 seats required for a two-thirds supermajority just once and Republicans never won enough seats to take control of the chamber. The last time that Republicans held an outright majority was in 1986.

    Between 1992 and 2020, Democrats held their largest majority following the 1992, 2008, and 2020 elections. After those elections, Senate Democrats held the chamber by a 12-seat majority. The New Mexico Senate was resistant to the national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). Senate Democrats never fell below 25 seats during Obama's presidency. From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    Historical House control

    Between 1992 and 2020, the New Mexico House of Representatives was controlled by Democrats with the exception of two years when the chamber was controlled by Republicans. The table below shows the partisan history of the New Mexico House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    New Mexico House of Representatives election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 52 46 42 40 42 42 42 42 45 37 38 33 38 46 44
    Republicans 18 24 28 30 28 28 28 28 25 33 32 37 32 24 25

    From 1992 to 2020, Democrats held control of the New Mexico House of Representatives with the exception of two years. Democrats had their largest majority following the 1992 election when they held a 34-seat advantage. House Democrats maintained their majority in elections between 1992 and 2012 but their majority declined over that time. In the 2010 elections, Democrats saw their majority decrease from 45-25 to 37-33.

    Republicans took control of the state House in the 2014 elections. Republicans picked up four seats in that election and won a 37-33 majority. Before Republicans took control of the chamber in 2014, the last time that they held a majority was in 1953.[4] The Republican gains from 2010 to 2014 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    House Democrats rebounded in the 2016 and 2018 elections, picking up 13 seats and a 46-24 majority. After the 2020 elections, Democrats held a 44-25 majority with one independent in the chamber.

    See also

    Elections New Mexico State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ New Mexico State Legislature, "HB 2," accessed April 12, 2022
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Hill, "New Mexico governor signs marijuana legalization bill," April 12, 2021
    3. ↑ New Mexico Legislature, "Political Composition — Legislative Sessions," accessed September 12, 2017
    4. ↑ New Mexico Legislature, "Political Composition — Legislative Sessions," accessed September 7, 2017
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