House Speaker Javier Martínez discusses on 2026 Legislative Session on NMiF

This week, New Mexico in Focus checks in on newly enacted state and federal laws and spending. Nine new state laws rang in the new year, six of which focused on health care.

New work requirements have been placed on recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) the federal food assistance program that more than one in five New Mexicans rely on. Dec. 31 also saw the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits. NMIF details how decisions made last year by state lawmakers will make up for those lost subsidies through the end of this fiscal year.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller began an unprecedented, third consecutive term this month. NMIF takes you to the inauguration ceremony where Keller spoke about his plans.

Democratic state House Speaker Javier Martínez stopped by the studio to chat with Host Nash Jones about the next legislative session. In the first of a two-part conversation, Jones asked how state lawmakers plan to balance budgets as state governments across the country continue to tighten budgets.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, where a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, and the first with President Trump back in the White House. Reporter Cailley Chella spoke with protestors in downtown Albuquerque to hear how they look back on that grim day.

Bosque Brewing closed the last of its locations in December, after a judge threw out the company's request for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Albuquerque Journal reporter Natalie Robbins and blogger Chris Jackson recently sat down with Senior Producer Lou DiVizio to discuss the closings and the overall health of the state's brewhouse scene.

NMiF airs on NMPBS 5.1 (KNME HD) on Friday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 11 at 7 a.m. and streaming on the PBS video app. Involved, informed, in-depth media: watch New Mexico in Focus again online shortly thereafter.

Host
Nash Jones

Segments
Speaker Martínez Previews 2026 Legislative Session
Correspondent
Nash Jones

Guest
NM Rep. Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque; house speaker

New Mexicans Look Back on Jan. 6 Anniversary
Correspondent
Cailley Chella

Guests
Anne Stauffer, demonstrator
Patty Kuning, demonstrator
Dean Strassberger, demonstrator
Drew Henke-Vigil, demonstrator

Brewhouse Blues as Bosque Brewing Closes
Correspondent
Lou DiVizio

Guests
Natalie Robbins, staff writer, Albuquerque Journal
Chris Jackson, editor and lead writer, Dark Side Brew Crew

New Mexico in Focus is the New Mexico PBS prime-time news magazine show covering the events, issues, and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. NMiF takes a multi-layered look at social, political, economic health, education, and art issues and explores them in-depth with a critical eye to give them context beyond the "news of the moment."

NMPBS Executive Producer, Public Affairs is Jeff Proctor. New Mexico in Focus's senior producer for public affairs is Lou DiVizio. Host and producer of New Mexico in Focus is Nash Jones. Producer is Antonio Sanchez. Multimedia journalist is Cailley Chella.

Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by the McCune Charitable Foundation and Viewers Like You. Funding for the Your New Mexico Government Project comes from the Thornburg Foundation and New Mexico Local News Fund. Funding for Our Land: New Mexico's Environmental Past, Present & Future is provided in part by the Neeper Natural History Programming.