Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is on a roll these days. Last week Whitmer signed a big education bill that includes free school meals for all kids in public schools. Say goodbye to the Cheese Sandwich of Shame for kids whose lunch accounts are short, and please ignore the rightwing weirdos who think it’s really smart to point out that in point of fact, taxpayers are paying for those free meals. And over the weekend, Whitmer posted to her Twixxer and InstaThread accounts a bunch of photos her staff put together transforming her into a Barbie doll, complete with pink Corvette.
Whitmer is, in short, the It Governor this summer. But also last week, in reply to a Tabs item mentioning Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, one of our alert Wonkette Operatives in the Land of Enchantment (just a short drive from Barbieland, I believe — don’t miss that turn in Albuquerque — pointed out that New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham “during the pandemic basically turned our state into a woke utopia,” listing a number of Lujan Grisham’s accomplishments like free college, legal weed, protections for abortion and gender-affirming care, and more.
Well then! That’s pretty damned impressive, so we decided to look at what Lujan Grisham has been up to, especially since New Mexico is the setting for the weekend’s other big blockbuster, Dr. StrangeBarbie, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Build The Bomb. Let’s run through some of the items on that reader’s list!
Also, we hope Gov. Lujan Grisham won’t hate us for starting our profile of her with stuff about Whitmer, that attention magnet.
Free College For Everyone
In 2022, Lujan signed a bipartisan law that made in-state tuition free for all state residents. Not just at community colleges, but in state universities and tribal colleges too. As the New York Times ‘splains, the bill will dedicate nearly one percent of the state budget to the plan:
All state residents from new high school graduates to adults enrolling part-time will be eligible regardless of family income. The program is also open to immigrants regardless of their immigration status.
The bill went into effect in July 2022, and may be the most generous program of its type in the nation, since it includes all state institutions of higher education and doesn’t impose a family income cap or work requirements. (Michigan’s free college program only covers community colleges, so Lujan Grisham can certainly smile pityingly at Whitmer about that.)
The program was so popular in its first year that Lujan Grisham pushed for an increase in funding for the scholarships next year. And because the scholarships kick in before federal aid like Pell grants, the federal money can be used by students for other necessities like fees and textbooks.
Protections For Abortion, Gender-Affirming Care
With several big bills signed this year, New Mexico has some of the best protections in the country for reproductive rights and for transgender residents. In March, Lujan Grisham signed HB 7, guaranteeing abortion services and gender-affirming care for all residents, preempting a move by some municipalities that had tried to impose local abortion bans. The state supreme court had already struck down the local laws as violations of the state constitution, but HB 7 settled the matter.
The Legislature and the governor followed that up in April with a second bill that shields healthcare providers and patients from prosecution or lawsuits in other states that have banned abortion or gender-affirming care, like the bullies in next-door Texas.
“This is a state that’s going to stand with the men and women who provide our care. We’re clear about our rights. We’re clear about our choices,” Lujan Grisham said at a news conference alongside eight female state legislators who sponsored abortion-access legislation. “If we don’t protect providers, you can say they have access (to abortion) when in fact you do not.”
Earlier in her term, in 2021, Lujan Grisham also signed a measure repealing the state’s old law banning abortion, so when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, New Mexico wasn’t shackled with that zombie 1969 law.
[AP / New Mexico HB 7 / New Mexico SB 13]
Parental And Medical Leave
In 2021, the state Lege passed a bill guaranteeing paid sick leave for workers in the state, requiring a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours people work, for up to 64 hours of paid sick leave per year; employers can choose to award the full amount to workers at the start of each year.
During this year’s legislative session, a bill that would have established up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave failed, but Grisham and Democrats in the Lege plan to bring it back next year.
[Office of Michelle Lujan Grisham / NM Political Report]
And The Rest
Other good stuff Lujan Grisham has signed into law:
Beefed up solar tax credits over and above the federal credits
Dramatically lower (or even zero) deductibles for health insurance through Obamacare
Legal Weed, hooray! (You may recall that, during confirmation hearings for Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Sen. John Barrasshole (R-Wyoming) tried to smear Haaland as a drug pusher for saying weed taxes could offset diminished state revenue from fossil fuel leases. So far, no marijuana-fueled transportation in New Mexico.
Free School Meals
New Mexico has those, too, and Lujan Grisham signed the bill into law in March, beating Michigan by a few months. Not that it’s a competition or anything.
Yr Wonkette is funded entirely by reader donations. If you can, please subscribe or make a one-time donation. Of cash, not weed or school lunch, silly.
Essentially, life is better for everyone when Democrats are in control, which is why Republicans keep trying to destroy everything.
New Mexico history textbooks teach that despite the harsh conditions, many in Florida and Texas acquired rudimentary skills which they later parlayed into angry White hate.