Two Democrats help send teen curfew bill to House floor

A bill to allow local governments to impose curfews on minors jumped through its second House committee, this time with some Democratic support. House Minority Leader Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, and Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, joined with seven Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee to vote yes on the bill. Maestas had been previously […]

Two Democrats help send teen curfew bill to House floor

A bill to allow local governments to impose curfews on minors jumped through its second House committee, this time with some Democratic support.

The seal of the state of New Mexico in the House
The seal of the state of New Mexico in the House

House Minority Leader Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, and Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, joined with seven Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee to vote yes on the bill. Maestas had been previously public about his support.

“I’m stuck on this one,” Maestas said at committee. “I lean towards local control.”

The bill allows cities and counties to set up their own curfews for minors under 16 years of age. Current state law prevents local governments from being able to do that.

Any potential local curfew law would be limited to during school hours and between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Police officers would then be allowed to approach any child 15 and under during those hours.

Egolf mentioned how as a teen he sometimes cut class during the day and asked House Majority Leader Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque and sponsor of the bill whether compulsory school attendance laws already allow officers to approach minors during school hours. Gentry responded yes.

“I imagine seven years from now if my kids were stopped for getting a coke [during school hours] I’d be annoyed,” Egolf said. “But it it’s already the law, it’s already the law.”

Youth advocacy and civil rights groups still highly oppose the bill. Several opponents mentioned how the Albuquerque Police Department is short of officers and the state Children, Youth and Families Department is underfunded and overburdened with case files.

“We’re short enrollment of officers in Albuquerque, and now our solution is to come up with a curfew and scapegoat our young people when they haven’t been doing anything wrong,” Bill Jordan, senior policy advisor for New Mexico Voices for Children, told committee members. “There are already laws on the books where you can pick them up if they’re doing something wrong.”

Steve Allen of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico brought up how APD is under court ordered consent decree by the federal Department of Justice to reform after its own rash of unjustified shootings of civilians.

“There’s never a good time to pass a law like this,” Allen said. “But now is an especially bad time.”

And Equality New Mexico Executive Director Amber Royster voiced her opposition, mentioning the state’s high teen homeless rate and how an estimated 40 percent of them are LGBTQ.

“This bill would be disastrous for them,” Royster said.

Gentry, who is sponsoring the bill with Rep. Carl Trujillo, D-Nambé, said he’s motivated by the “series of very troubling crimes throughout our state over the last year.” Gentry said he wants to address both the safety of the public and childhood safety.

Nicole Chavez, the mother of slain teen Jayden Chavez, spoke in favor of the bill.

“I am a mother of one teenager now and I believe any parent here agrees that their child does not need to be out in the street past midnight,” she said, “because there is nothing but trouble at that hour.”

Chavez also addressed concerns that curfews lead to racial profiling, mentioning that it can also affect her because she’s Hispanic.

“Sometimes we get profiled, unfortunately,” Chavez said. “But I would rather be safe than sorry.”

Others who spoke in support included representatives from the CYFD, the state Corrections Department and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.

Gentry cited a 1997 study by the U.S. Conference of Mayors that found 93 percent of cities surveyed that had curfews considered them “helpful.” He also cited a 2011 University of California at Berkeley study that found curfew laws help reduce property crimes committed by people under curfew age.

Yet the City Mayors Society in 2009 found that measuring the impact of curfew laws is difficult because of “several methodological problems.”

“Cities enact their curfews in different years; some in response to an outbreak of youth violence, others as a measure to prevent youth violence,” the study says. “This complicates the comparison of before-and-after crime rates between cities.”

The City Mayors Society study also says curfew laws may also have an effect on people who are older than curfew laws but appear younger. Rep. Georgene Louis, D-Albuquerque, spoke to this point.

“When I first got here, they thought I was a page,” she said, referring to legislative intern positions taken by high school students.

Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, raised concerns about the measure but said she ended up voting yes. Among the aspects she had differences with was wording that the curfew would “regulate actions of children.” She also spoke about her 16-year-old son who, for a few years now, has biked in the middle of the day from a charter school to a college to take classes.

“I don’t really like law enforcement stopping children just because he’s out and about,” she said. “But I’m going to reluctantly vote for this bill.”

The bill next moves to the House floor for a full vote.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report