The City of Las Cruces is excited to see what 2025 brings and this upcoming year we are hoping we can reach out to our partners in the community and at the State Legislative level to make our projects come to fruition.
2025 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
City Administrators and staff are combing through the projects they feel will add value to our community and are building a list of projects they would like to see funded. As they build on that list, the project will be added here.
2025 Capital Outlay Projects
LCPD has been tasked with assisting the NMSP with tactical response throughout southern NM and increasingly, the entire state. We are requesting additional vehicles to assist with the statewide critical incident response.
Request: $500,000 for five regional/statewide response vehicles.
The Las Cruces Real-Time Crime Center is in the final stages of becoming operational. Infrastructure and equipment need to be further developed to be as effective as possible. This is a regional asset for all of Southern NM.
Request: $1,000,000 to expand technology and infrastructure for crime reduction and officer/community safety.
LCPD and DASO need a driving track to continue operating satellite police academies and for conducting professional in-service training. All Southern NM law enforcement agencies would benefit from this track.
Request: $2,000,000 million for design and construction. (Joint DASO/LCPD project).
2025 Policy Change Requests
City Council is also supporting several policy changes. We will update this page with these policies before the next legislative session begins:
Competency Statute Reform: NMSA 31-9 needs to be completely overhauled. We have seen an increase in people dealing with competency issues nationwide. Most states are experiencing a competency crisis, but their crisis is the complete opposite of New Mexico’s. Most states mandate competency restoration for all felonies and even some misdemeanors. NM mandates the dismissal of criminal cases except in the most extreme cases. There are no options in NM’s competency statute. It is either hospitalization at NMBHI in Las Vegas or dismissal. Minnesota recently revamped its competency laws, and they look promising. Below are some changes that would go a long way:
- Allow for community-based (outpatient) restoration for non-violent crimes.
- Allow for private inpatient restoration for certain crimes at facilities like the PEAK or Mesilla Valley Hospital.
- Require restoration for all violent offenses.
- Require competency restoration for all felonies. It can be done outpatient, inpatient at a private facility, or inpatient at NMBHI.
- Require restoration for anyone deemed incompetent for two or more criminal cases in a 12-month period.
- Connect competency statutes to diversion programs and civil commitment.
- Allow law enforcement to be a petitioner for Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT).
- Fund the programs/agencies that will be responsible for carrying out these changes.
Pre-trial Detention Changes (Bail Reform): NM is #1 in the country for violent, property, and overall crime. Law enforcement and victims are dealing with the same individuals who have repeatedly broken the law. The changes below are reasonable measures to keep New Mexicans safe and preserve the rights of those accused of crimes.
- For certain violent crimes, the burden should be on the defense, not the prosecutor, to show the defendant is not dangerous and can be released pre-trial.
- Anyone rearrested while pending another criminal case should be held until they see the judges involved in their cases, regardless of the degree of the offenses.
Law Enforcement Recruitment & Retention: Fewer people than ever want to be police officers in the current climate. If we do not want to remain #1 for crime, we need to be as creative as possible about incentivizing qualified people to become officers and to stay. Below are a few measures that I believe would positively impact these efforts.
- Many young parents struggle with daycare expenses, and law enforcement is not exempt from these struggles. Commissioned officers should have their childcare expenses (up to two children) covered by the state regardless of income.
- Allow DFA grants to be used to increase the hourly rate of officers in local departments.
- Provide DFA grants directly to agencies to do out-of-state recruitment.
- Allow state money that goes to agencies to be used for retention measures and not just recruitment.
- Pay off student loans after three years of service as a law enforcement officer.
Felon in Possession: Although the legislature has made several changes over the past few years, we have not seen those statutory changes have a practical impact. Felons in NM have very little fear that they will be punished for possessing a firearm, and the statistics would support their lack of fear. They have a very different response when they are facing a federal felon in possession charge, and it is taken very seriously by the defendant. The changes below would make a felon possessing a firearm something other than a joke in NM.
- Institute a minimum mandatory sentence for a felon in possession conviction and not just a potential sentencing range that is almost always suspended.
IPRA: Our public records laws were created with physical or paper documents in mind. They were not created with video as a main concern. The IPRA statutes provide very few protections for victims and juveniles.
- Make changes to the IPRA statute to protect the victims of crime better.
- Make changes to the IPRA statute to protect juveniles better.
- Make changes to the IPRA statute that discourages people from exploiting others online for a profit.
- Make changes to the IPRA statute to make reviewing and redacting hundreds of hours of video less cumbersome.
Juvenile Justice Reform: There is a breakdown at every level of the system, and the results are devastating. We are seeing unprecedented levels of violence, crime, and disorder being committed by younger and younger offenders. There are far too many repeat offenders who are under eighteen. It has been very difficult to address their dangerous and sometimes deadly behavior because of the flaws in the system.
- Make unlawful possession of a “machine gun” a felony in NM to combat things like “Glock switches” and AR-15 auto sears. Maryland has already passed a bill that makes these machine guns illegal. Several other states are introducing legislation to do the same.
- Make changes to the Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) to make it more flexible and better suited to deal with local issues.
- More accountability is needed for pre-trial services for kids pending violent crimes.
- Develop and fund programs to prevent youth from becoming violent recidivists.
OUR GRATITUDE
The City of Las Cruces has been awarded millions of dollars for improvements and programs by the New Mexico Legislature in past sessions.
We send a heartfelt thank you to the New Mexico Legislators who have made these projects possible.
From playgrounds and facility upgrades to technology enhancements, residents have a greatly improved quality of life!
The work in Las Cruces isn’t done yet! We could not have built the foundation we have without the dedication and support of our Legislators that have made all these changes possible.
Thank you so much to all those who have invested in Las Cruces and supported our growth.
2024 Funded Projects
LAS CRUCES INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE BUILDING
Facility for the Las Cruces Fire Department’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare program and Project L.I.G.H.T. Mental Crisis Response.
Thank you Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Senator Bill Soules, Representative Angelica Rubio, and Representative Nathan Small for allocating $2.5 million to this project.
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS
Support for Active Transportation Plan projects and initiatives, including sidewalk gaps & improvements, ADA improvements, Transit shade structures, street lighting, intersection improvements, bicycle facilities, and street trees.
Thank you to Representative Angelica Rubio for allocating $350,000 to this project.
AMADOR CROSSING HOUSING
Approximately 40-50 unit housing project on the Community of Hope campus to provide supportive housing, onsite services, and access to campus agencies.
Thank you to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Representative Micaela Lara Cadena, Senator Carrie Hamblen, Representative Angelica Rubio, Senator Jeff Steinborn, and Representative Joanne Ferrary for allocating a total of almost $6 million to this project.
VALLEY VIEW PARK
Valley View Park renovations and trail improvements in the second Lift Up area.
Thank you to Representative Angelica Rubio for allocating $100,000 to this project.
LAS CRUCES FIRE STATION 9
Construction of the new Fire Station #9.
Thank you to Representative Joanne Ferrary for allocating $100,000 to this project.
EAST MESA PUBLIC RECREATION COMPLEX
Continuing construction of this regional park, including, but not limited to, multi-purpose fields, courts, and concessions.
Thank you to Representative Joanne Ferrary for allocating $300,000 to this project.
LAS CRUCES REAL-TIME CRIME CENTER
Integrated system of cameras, surveillance equipment and information technology to develop a real-time crime center for the Las Cruces Police Department.
Thank you to Senator Bill Soules, Representative Nathan Small, and Representative Joanne Ferrary for allocating a total of $650,000 to this project.
