Legislative Priorities

We entered the 2026 session seeking $2 million to maintain essential services.
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Sexual assault services received $1 million in recurring funding from the House which remained in the budget all the way through! This is a HUGE win and will help ensure services have sustainable funding year after year.
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Services were also appropriated $660k in one-time member directed GRO funding for sexual assault services.
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We will work hard to continue expanding and maintaining access for survivors. If you would like to support our work, please consider donating.

HB151, the NM Survivors’ Justice Act, failed to pass HAFC on an 8-8 vote.

We are deeply grateful to Representative Marianna Anaya for working so hard on this bill in the face of systems focused on protecting their interests over justice for survivors.

​We will continue to work to reform the New Mexico civil statute of limitations to ensure that survivors of child sexual abuse can seek justice when they are ready.

SB 41 was fiercely championed by Senator Angel Charley and PASSED!
This bill eliminates the criminal statute of limitations for certain child sexual abuse crimes.

Sexual abuse in prisons is preventable. The U.S. Prison Rape Elimination Act was signed into law in 2003 with broad bi-partisan support. In New Mexico, NMCSAP, the Transgender Resource Center of NM, and many other advocates have worked with the NM Corrections Department, county jails, and juvenile facilities to implement the federal PREA standards.

We hope to bring this back in the 2027 Legislative session to ensure critical protections for all people incarcerated in New Mexico.​

Thank you Representative Dayan Hochman-Vigil, Senator Elizabeth “Liz” Stefanics, and Representative Nicole Chavez for leading this effort.

Ten years ago, leaders, advocates, and policymakers in New Mexico began the painstaking and necessary work of addressing a backlog of sexual assault exam kits that had been growing for years. A decade later, we are again creating a taskforce to take a comprehensive look at where we are now.

This memorial will establish a comprehensive study of the sexual assault kit backlog to help identify ongoing gaps, barriers, and successes within the current system.

Thank you to the sponsors Senator Linda M. López, Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Senator Cindy Nava, Senator Angel Charley, and Senator Shannon Pinto

Comprehensive sexual health education is a critical component of sexual violence prevention, public health, and youth well-being. When young people have access to accurate, culturally responsive information, they are better equipped to understand consent, boundaries, healthy relationships, and how to seek help when harm occurs.

Even though HM10 didn’t move forward, the Legislative Education Study Committee has committed to conducting a study to determine what is currently being taught across school districts, identify gaps or inconsistencies, and assess whether students are receiving the information they deserve to stay safe and healthy.

Thank you to the sponsor Representative Yanira Gurrola.

HR1 passed and established a “Truth Commission” to investigate the decades of abuse and human trafficking surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. For too long, systemic failures and legal loopholes allowed these horrific crimes to occur in our own backyard without accountability. By establishing this commission, New Mexico is taking a step toward providing survivors and the public with the transparency they deserve.

​This committee has already had their first meeting and is starting their work.

​However, we know that justice also requires accountability and centering survivors and we hope the state does not stop with this first step and commits to other essential policies such as reforming the civil statute of limitations.

Thank you Representative Andrea Romero and Representative Marianna Anaya for championing this effort to bring justice to survivors.

SB53 passed its first committee but died waiting to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

This legislation would have increased digital privacy protections, especially for people seeking care or services. Right now, much of our data is not protected by existing health privacy laws. Information about a survivor’s health, location, communications, or searches for support services can be collected, stored, and sold by private companies without the survivor’s knowledge or consent.

The New Mexico Community & Health Information Safety & Privacy Act (CHISPA) will strengthen protections for sensitive personal and health information to give individuals greater control over their data and limit the ability of corporations and data brokers to collect, use, or sell deeply personal information without clear consent.

We look forward to continuing to support policy that protects privacy.​

Thank you Senator Angel Charley, Senator Leo Jaramillo, Representative Christine Chandler, Representative Marianna Anaya, and Representative Pamelya Herndon