Good, bad, and ugly in New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session

With the session about to conclude at noon today (Thursday, 2/19), we already have a basic grasp on some of the good, bad, and ugly from this Legislature. We will update this post after the session officially concludes. Notably, unlike the 2026 session which didn’t have any really “good” policies (besides the “microgrid bill,” which very much flew under the radar LAST year), the 2026 session had some bigger policy wins and some more concerning losses.

Let’s start with the GOOD things that happened this year:

1. HB 99 reforms New Mexico’s medical malpractice laws providing needed caps for payouts. It is not only the best thing from this session but one of the best bills passed in a VERY long time.
2. Two few health care compacts have passed so far: one for physicians and one for social workers. The physician compact is also very helpful in addressing the doctor shortage.

Sadly, in terms of BAD ideas there are still more (and more impactful) really awful bills that will become law thanks to actions taken this session than there will good ones.

1. The VERY worst bills this year were for “Free” childcare which was in both the budget HB 2 and SB 241. It is going to be incredibly expensive with a starting price tag of $850 million annually and rising rapidly for there, all for a program that hurts kids.
2. SB 2 addresses New Mexico’s roads problems but raises taxes on freight truckers and average motorists. It DOES impose a fee on electric vehicles, but tax hikes are completely unnecessary in a state with oil and gas largesse.
3. HB 9 shutters ICE facilities in New Mexico potentially costing areas of the state 1,000 jobs.
4. HB 2 (the budget) among many other issues spends $308 million on “quantum computing.”
5. SB 151 (the tax bill) This bill is ultimately a tax increase of $110-$120 million annually driven by the “decoupling” of New Mexico from corporate tax provisions in the federal “Big Beautiful Bill.” There are some good and not-so-good tax reduction provisions within the bill, but it is ultimately an unnecessary tax hike.

Bills that were too UGLY even for New Mexico’s left wing legislature include (thankfully these bills failed):

1. SB 17 a blatantly unconstitutional gun grab and effort to put gun sellers out of business.
2. SB 18 would have completely destroyed New Mexico’s economy by forcing our state to eliminate CO2 emissions by 2050.
3.  SB 235 would shut down “microgrids” that are providing one of the best opportunities for economic development in New Mexico by forcing data centers and other electricity intensive facilities to use wind and solar which would be impossible and likely chase them to other neighboring states.

While there were many successes, let there be no doubt that much harm continues to be done to New Mexico and its economy by this Legislature and Gov. While MLG leaves office at year-end will the future see improvement or more of the same?