Time running out for bill allowing longer NCI holds

by Zsombor Peter

Staff Writer

GALLUP--With the New Mexico Legislature set to call it a year this coming Saturday, time is fast running out for a bill city officials have high hopes for in their efforts to combat the area's alcohol problems.  

The bill, which would allow Gallup's Na'Nizhoozhi Center--and other detoxification centers around the state--to hold intoxicated visitors against their will for up to three days, passed the House under the sponsorship of Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-Gallup, unanimously Feb. 10, but is taking its time moving through the Senate.  

The senate version, sponsored by Sen. Leonard Tsosie, D-Crownpoint, has made it through the Public Affairs Committee, but is still waiting to be heard by the Judiciary Committee.

"Our biggest fear now is running out of time," said City Manager Eric Honeyfield.  

If the bill does pass the Judiciary Committee, it still needs to be called up on the Senate floor in the remaining days; however, with so many bills coming down the pipe, only a fraction will be heard by Saturday, and getting noticed by the Senate leadership will only help.

It would also have helped if the right version of the bill had been sent to the Senate to begin with.  According to Honeyfield, the Senate was given an early first draft of the bill, which delayed the process by one crucial week.

It would have also helped if all the area's state representatives were behind the bill.  While the rest of the area's representatives are on board, Honeyfield said, "Sen. (Lidio) Rainaldi remains steadfastly opposed to the act."  

Rainaldi, D-Gallup, who happens to sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he doesn't see any problems with the Detoxification Act, which the bill proposes to partially rewrite.  All the city needs to do, he has said, is enforce the laws that exist.

But city officials insist that the Act, as it exists, is filled with ambiguities and contradictions that make it difficult--and legally dangerous--to enforce.  Despite the Act, the city and center were sued a few years ago for violating a visitor's civil rights when he was involuntarily detained.  Since then, the Na'Nizhoozhi Center has only been detaining visitors involuntarily no longer than two days.

City officials believe the three-day holds will give the center crucial additional treatment time with visitors and the chance to discharge t hem under safer conditions, once they've had more time to recuperate and hopefully, are in the care of family members.  According to Honeyfield, three of Gallup's four exposure victims this winter were found frozen to death not long after being released from the center.  

 -Taken from the Gallup Independent;  Monday, March 14, 2005

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Last modified: March 23, 2005