I traveled over 600 miles and dedicated three full days to attend this week’s Legislative Health and Human Services interim committee meeting. Like many of my colleagues, I did so with the good-faith expectation that this interim process—unencumbered by the frenzied pace of a 30- or 60-day legislative session—would provide space for meaningful, in-depth discussions about the serious challenges facing New Mexicans.
Unfortunately, that expectation was stomped on within the first hour of the meeting.
What was sold as a forum for thoughtful policy examination quickly devolved into a tightly choreographed exercise in schedule management. Following a morning delayed by so-called “technical difficulties,” Chairwoman Liz Thomson arbitrarily imposed a three-minute limit on all legislator questions to “stay on schedule.” Let that sink in: three minutes to unpack complex issues like CYFD oversight, complex and expensive mental health infrastructure, and solutions to the homeless crisis impacting every community in our state.
This isn’t just a procedural complaint—it’s a condemnation of failed leadership.
The role of the interim committee is not to keep time like a referee at a junior high debate club. It’s to do the hard work of legislative oversight and deep policy analysis, particularly when our most vulnerable citizens are suffering under the weight of bureaucratic indifference and administrative dysfunction. The very purpose of these hearings is defeated when legislators are muzzled for the sake of lunch breaks, side conversations, and clock-watching.
Representative Thomson’s decision to value the agenda’s end-time more than the committee’s mission is not just disappointing—it’s dangerous. Her actions send a clear message: efficiency is more important than accountability. Optics matter more than outcomes. That’s a disservice to every child in New Mexico who has fallen through the cracks of our broken health and human services systems.
As a member of this committee, I did not travel hundreds of miles to rubber-stamp presentations or applaud bureaucracy. I came to press, to probe, and to pursue answers—without a stopwatch dictating the depth of my inquiries.
This experience explains why New Mexico is in such abysmal shape. Our constituents deserve better. Our children deserve better. And frankly, this committee deserves better leadership.
Larry Scott represents District 42 in the New Mexico Senate, which covers parts of Chaves, Eddy, and Lea counties.
