New Mexico lawmakers to focus on public education overhaul

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An overhaul of New Mexico's struggling public education system is at the forefront of legislative priorities as an expanded Democratic majority arrives at the state Capitol for a 60-day session on Tuesday.

The inauguration of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to succeed a two-term Republican has opened up a floodgate for progressive-led initiatives on climate change, gun control, marijuana regulation, abortion rights and changes to taxes and subsidies designed to trim state's fiscal reliance on a boom-and-bust oil industry.