LAYING DOWN THE LAWS

* Crime-related issues are among the governor's priorities and could prove
to keep lawmakers busy

SANTA FE -- The thorny issue of crime and punishment could loom large for
state lawmakers this year.

Here are some top crime-related issues facing lawmakers:

* Good time. Getting rid of "good time" -- which allows prison inmates to
reduce their sentences by up to 50 percent for good behavior -- is one of
Republican Gov. Gary Johnson's priorities. The Legislature is expected to
consider changing the law to require violent criminals to serve at least 85
percent of their sentences. Under current law, most violent offenders serve
about 67 percent of their sentences. The legislation also would require
prisoners to complete vocational training, education programs, mental-health
counseling and substance-abuse programs in order to reduce their sentences.

"There's no more good time. This is 'earned time,' '' said Rep. R. David
Pederson, D-Gallup, who chaired the interim Courts, Corrections and Criminal
Justice Committee and plans to sponsor the bill.

During his first term, Johnson vetoed bills to change the good time law
because the legislation also would have created a commission that could have
ordered the early release of inmates if prisons got overcrowded. Senate
President Pro Tem Manny Aragon, D-Albuquerque, and Pederson said this year's
good time bill will not include the commission, although it could resurface
in a separate bill. Johnson said he would sign legislation getting rid of
good time that does not include the commission.

* Megan's Law. New Mexico is the only state that does not have a so-called
Megan's Law requiring public disclosure of the whereabouts of convicted sex
offenders. The state stands to lose about $500,000 in annual federal grants
to fund anti-drug and gang-prevention activities for youths if the
Legislature does not pass a law this year providing public access to the
state's sex-offender registry, said Darren White, secretary of the
Department of Public Safety.

Sex offenders have been required since 1995 to register with the local
sheriff's office when they move into a community, but the public does not
have access to that information.

Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Las Cruces, and Sen. R.L. Stockard, R- Bloomfield,
plan to introduce a bill that would require sheriff's offices, police
departments and district attorneys to maintain lists of registered sex
offenders. Those lists would be open to the public.

Similar legislation died in the House during the 30-day session in 1998.

Megan's Laws are named for a 7-year-old New Jersey girl raped and killed by
a neighbor. The case prompted New Jersey to pass a sex- offender disclosure
law in 1995.

* Hate crimes. Sen. Pauline Eisenstadt, D-Corrales, plans to introduce
legislation that would allow stiffer penalties to be imposed for crimes that
target victims because of their race, religion, color, national origin,
ancestry, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

New Mexico is one of a handful of states not to have such a "hate- crimes"
statute, and the beating death of a gay college student in Wyoming in
October has sparked renewed interest in its passage. Such a law is supported
by the Anti-Defamation League, gay-rights groups and others.

However, Johnson vetoed a similar bill in the 1995 legislative session,
saying all crimes are hate crimes. And Johnson said he would veto the
measure again should it pass this year.

* DWI. Gov. Gary Johnson wants to crack down on drunken driving by imposing
harsher penalties for first-time offenders and those who continue driving
during a license suspension for DWI.

Under Johnson's proposal, a first DWI conviction would result in a two-year
loss of one's driving license. Those who continued to drive with a suspended
license for DWI would face a mandatory six-month jail sentence.

Similar legislation proposed by Johnson in the 1998 session did not pass.
Anti-DWI advocates said they would rather see lawmakers focus on the problem
of juvenile DWI offenders during the session.

* Three strikes, you're out. New Mexico's three-strikes law is so vague that
only two repeat violent offenders have received a life sentence since it was
enacted in 1994, according to the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Coordinating
Council.

The council and the Legislature's interim Courts, Corrections and Criminal
Justice Committee have endorsed a proposal to create "a persistent violent
offender act" that would make more repeat offenders subject to life
sentences. However, the New Mexico District Attorneys Association opposes a
provision that would require the state to show that the offender was not a
likely subject for rehabilitation before the life sentence could be imposed.
The district attorneys also questioned the appropriateness of a second
post-conviction hearing, which would be held after the inmate had served a
minimum of 10 years in prison.

The New Mexico Victim Assistance Organization also opposes the hearings.

* Overhaul sentencing structure. Lawmakers will consider establishing new
sentencing standards for judges to follow in more than 1,000 felony crimes.

The proposed sentencing overhaul by the New Mexico Criminal and Juvenile
Justice Coordinating Council would classify punishments for felonies as
"presumptive prison," meaning the offender should be sent to prison; "no
presumption," which would leave it up to the judge to impose a prison
sentence; "presumptive non-prison"; and "presumptive penalties and fines."

State prosecutors oppose the proposal, which the council estimates would
reduce the number of people going to prison by 20 percent a year.

Proponents, like Gallup's Pederson, said offenders convicted of lesser
felonies, such as drug and property crimes, should be diverted into
community corrections programs, such as halfway houses and residential
drug-treatment centers.

* Limit death penalty appeals. Johnson wants to impose a two-year limit on
death penalty appeals from the time notice of appeal is given in a capital
felony case. A similar measure pushed by Johnson did not pass in 1998.

House Speaker Raymond Sanchez, D-Albuquerque, said lawmakers should be very
careful in thinking about limiting death penalty appeals, since some inmates
sentenced to death have subsequently been proven to be innocent.