New Mexico legislators weigh response to pandemic

  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Leading legislators are weighing how to safely convene to approve economic aid and post-election initiatives that might boost spending on prekindergarten and regulate recreational cannabis sales. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants the state to forge its own relief package for the unemployed and hard-hit businesses in the midst of a renewed statewide coronavirus lockdown that began Monday and lasts through at least Nov. 30. Preparations for New Mexico’s regular legislative session, from mid-January through March, have been upended by an unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks and days. Legislators are meeting with legal counsel to forge a plan for a legislative session amid the pandemic.