New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico Senate Bill SM6 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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28	28	SENATE MEMORIAL 6
29	29	57
30	30	TH LEGISLATURE
31	31	- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
32	32	FIRST SESSION
33	33	, 2025
34	34	INTRODUCED BY
35	35	Linda M. López
36	36	A MEMORIAL
37	37	REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO STUDY A PROPOSED
38	38	REVISION TO THE CHILDREN'S CODE TO GIVE BOTH PARENTS AND THEIR
39	39	MINOR CHILDREN THE RIGHT TO CONSENT TO MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT.
40	40	WHEREAS, the Children's Code states that a minor child can
41	41	refuse mental health treatment if the minor child is fourteen
42	42	years of age or older; and
43	43	WHEREAS, if the minor child fourteen years of age or older
44	44	does not consent to mental heath treatment, the minor child's
45	45	parents cannot make the decision for their child and cannot
46	46	take advantage of needed therapy; and
47	47	WHEREAS, a primary reason for the Children's Code
48	48	provision allowing minor children fourteen years of age and
49	49	older to consent to mental health treatment was a concern on
50	50	the part of children's advocates that parents were abusing the
51	51	.230048.2 underscored material = new
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78	78	use of mental health treatment, especially residential
79	79	treatment, when minor children became difficult for parents to
80	80	handle; and
81	81	WHEREAS, mental health treatment now has a system of
82	82	checks and balances, coupled with medical necessity, that
83	83	prevents mental health treatment from being used
84	84	inappropriately; and
85	85	WHEREAS, refusal of mental health treatment can have dire
86	86	consequences for minor children and their families, and can
87	87	lead to a later need for higher levels of care such as
88	88	residential treatment, juvenile detention or protective
89	89	custody; and
90	90	WHEREAS, when the current law was enacted, it was also
91	91	intended to give children the right to seek treatment that
92	92	their parents were unwilling to provide; and
93	93	WHEREAS, it is warranted to investigate if the age of
94	94	consent should be reconsidered based on the developmental
95	95	stages of minors and the impact that refusal of treatment may
96	96	have on families; and
97	97	WHEREAS, community-based mental health therapies can keep
98	98	youth stable and better able to cope with adolescence, and to
99	99	maintain mental and behavioral health wellness; and
100	100	WHEREAS, parents are legally and morally responsible for
101	101	their minor children, but the current Children's Code prohibits
102	102	parents from making the decision to obtain mental health
103	103	.230048.2
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131	131	treatment for a minor child even when the parents fear for
132	132	their child's life or witness their child exhibiting dangerous
133	133	behaviors that could have life-long consequences; and
134	134	WHEREAS, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana,
135	135	Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas have
136	136	joint consent laws;
137	137	NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE
138	138	OF NEW MEXICO that the department of health be requested to
139	139	undertake a study to analyze and compare state data for New
140	140	Mexico youth outcomes related to mental health treatment
141	141	modalities to state data from the states with joint consent
142	142	laws, in order to determine if the data shows differences in
143	143	mental health outcomes between those states and New Mexico in
144	144	urban and rural areas for youth fourteen through seventeen
145	145	years of age; and
146	146	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study look for comparative
147	147	data across the states with joint consent laws to determine if
148	148	joint consent laws affected youth mental health indicators and
149	149	outcomes; and
150	150	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study review available
151	151	state data from the states with joint consent laws to New
152	152	Mexico state data to determine how many children by age,
153	153	including those in foster care, end up in residential treatment
154	154	or juvenile justice systems, including detention facilities or
155	155	on probation; and
156	156	.230048.2
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184	184	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study draw conclusions
185	185	from the state data sets to determine whether the current
186	186	Children's Code provision allowing a minor child fourteen years
187	187	of age or older to refuse mental health treatment contributes
188	188	to the risk of mental health emergencies; and
189	189	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health be
190	190	requested to report those findings and recommendations to the
191	191	legislative health and human services committee by November 1,
192	192	2025; and
193	193	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
194	194	transmitted to the secretary of health; the chair and vice
195	195	chair of the legislative health and human services committee;
196	196	the president of the national alliance of mental illness of
197	197	southern New Mexico; the president of disability rights New
198	198	Mexico; the director of the New Mexico behavioral health
199	199	planning council; the chair of the New Mexico behavioral health
200	200	planning council children and adolescents subcommittee; and the
201	201	director of Families First.
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203	203	.230048.2