By Dr. Manuel Garcia, Chair, NMVMA Legislative Affairs Committee
If you care about the future of veterinary medicine in New Mexico, this is the time to get involved. NMVMA needs more members to help track issues, respond when needed, and strengthen our voice on the policies that affect daily practice. A small group cannot carry this work alone.
The 2026 legislative session adjourned on February 19. It was a fast-moving 30-day session centered largely on the budget, but it also set the stage for the months ahead. Interim committees will begin meeting later this year, and New Mexico’s 2026 election cycle will shape the policy environment heading into 2027. With a new governor to be elected this November and all 70 House seats on the ballot, this is not the time for our profession to sit back.
Our recent NMVMA survey makes clear that members want a stronger voice. The top advocacy priorities were workforce shortages and distribution concerns at 53.8 percent, technician recruitment and retention at 51 percent, license portability at 38.5 percent, and scope-of-practice guardrails at 35.6 percent. These are not side issues. These are the real pressures shaping practice in New Mexico right now.
The survey also told us something important about the NMVMA PAC. Members are not pushing it away. They are asking to understand it first. Of 104 respondents, 61.5 percent said they want more information before deciding whether to support it, 23.1 percent said they plan to support it, and only 15.4 percent said they are not interested right now. That tells us we need to lead with clarity, trust, and straightforward information.
That is why NMVMA Community members should watch for an invitation to a short webinar series on the new NMVMA PAC, launching soon. We will explain what the PAC can do, what it cannot do, how it will be governed, and how it connects to the priorities members most clearly named: workforce capacity, license portability, and patient safety and professional guardrails.
We also need more people involved in the day-to-day work of advocacy. Across the country, veterinarians are seeing increased pressure on workforce policy, licensure, and scope of practice questions. Those issues do not stay neatly inside state lines. If we want veterinary professionals to help shape what comes next in New Mexico, we need more members to pay attention, speak up, and share the load.
Here is the plain ask: please consider volunteering with NMVMA’s advocacy efforts.
• You do not need to be a policy expert.
• You do not need hours of free time.
• You do need to care about protecting the profession, supporting the veterinary team, and making sure veterinary voices help shape the decisions that affect veterinary medicine in our state.
The more people who participate, the more effective we will be, and the more sustainable this work becomes.
Interested in helping? Please complete our volunteer interest form here: Volunteer Interest Form
This work matters to practice owners, associates, technicians, rural communities, and the next generation entering the profession. If you have been waiting for the right time to step forward, this is it.