A recent article In SearchLight New Mexico features one of Rep. Kathleen Cates’s many bills promoting accessibility for all:
“A bill championed by Rep. Kathleen Cates, D-Rio Rancho, would require state agency websites, apps and physical facilities to comply with digital and physical accessibility standards and create an office of accessibility. It would also put all the data regarding ADA violations in one place, Cates said.
The bill made it to the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk during the 2025 legislative session, but she vetoed it, saying it duplicated existing efforts by her administration.
“The naysayers of the bill … will say, ‘I don’t need to grow government,’ or ‘We’re already doing this,’ ” Cates said. “And so my argument is no, what we are doing is creating the right, the law, that all these places need to be accessible. What we need is a reporting mechanism that is centralized so that our decision-makers can make appropriate decisions.”
Cates plans to bring the bill back next year, and she is hopeful the next governor will support it.”