Civil rights legislation signed into law

SANTA FE — Two days before a critical deadline, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed civil rights legislation Wednesday that grew out of last year’s protests against racial injustice and police brutality.

The civil rights measure — one of the most fiercely debated of the 60-day legislative session — will allow the filing of lawsuits in state District Court to recover financial damages if a public agency or officer violates a person’s rights under the state Bill of Rights.

The law will also bar qualified immunity as a defense to the claims, making New Mexico one of just a few states to ban the legal doctrine available in federal court.

The bill’s passage was vigorously opposed by city and county governments, along with some police chiefs and sheriffs. Opponents said public agencies already face significant legal exposure and the proposal will result in costly taxpayer settlements without actually preventing police misconduct or protecting New Mexicans’ civil rights.

In a written statement, Lujan Grisham said the newly created Civil Rights Act isn’t an anti-police bill, and she knows public servants work hard to protect people’s rights.

“But when violations do occur,” she said, “we as Americans know too well that the victims are disproportionately people of color, and that there are too often roadblocks to fighting for those inalienable rights in a court of law.”

The proposal, House Bill 4, came about after Lujan Grisham and legislators established a commission last year to evaluate changes to New Mexico’s civil rights laws. It was triggered by protests after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee onto his neck.