January 31, 2024

Bill to establish Office of Gun Violence Prevention passes first committee

A bill that would establish an Office of Gun Violence Prevention passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a party-line vote Tuesday. HB 144 seeks to establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention through the New Mexico Department of Health which would collect data related to gun violence in New Mexico. The committee […]

Nicole Maxwell

A bill that would establish an Office of Gun Violence Prevention passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a party-line vote Tuesday.

HB 144 seeks to establish the Office of Gun Violence Prevention through the New Mexico Department of Health which would collect data related to gun violence in New Mexico.

The committee voted 4-2 to pass the bill.

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention will expand what the NMDOH already does with respect to firearm data collection, bill sponsor Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, D-Los Ranchos, said.

The committee voted to amend the bill to say the Office’s director would be selected by the governor rather than by a selection committee.

“We simply removed that process and the director would just be funded by the governor and serve at the pleasure of the governor,” Hochman-Vigil said.

Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, did not like the idea of the process being changed.

“I’m sorry, I think we need a process and I do not trust that any executive, no matter the one currently or one in the future, would have the correct ability to do that, as they already have four members on the board,” Block said.

Other issues with the director being chosen by the governor, he and Rep. Stefanie Lord, R-Sandia Park, said that the chosen director would not be able to judge data dispassionately as well as minimal continuity when a different governor is elected.

Hochman-Vigil said that was one of the risks with the bill and that she hoped that would not be the case.

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention would have a nine-person board with a director chosen by the governor.

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention would do the following:

Identify data gaps
Gather and analyze data regarding the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act
Use research results to inform evidence-based gun violence prevention efforts in New Mexico communities
Improve understanding of disparities in gun violence between racial and ethnic groups
Promote new research relevant to gun violence prevention
Facilitate coordination among state and local entities attempting to address gun violence
Conduct gun violence prevention awareness activities
Outline best practices for preventing gun violence in New Mexico
Help to educate law enforcement academy members about gun violence prevention

Once established, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention would present a report and legislative recommendations to the legislature on Dec. 15 of each year.

The bill now heads to the House Judiciary Committee.