Santa Fe, NM - Today Lt. Gov. John Sanchez signed into law House Bill 261 sponsored by Reps. Nate Gentry (R-Bernalillo) and Zachary Cook (R-Lincoln and Otero), House Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo).

The new law appropriates critical emergency funding for New Mexico's judiciary system by providing $80,000 to the Supreme Court and $1.6 million to the Administrative Office of the Courts' Jury and Witness fund to prevent anticipated FY 2017 budget shortfalls in those entities.

"Justice Charles Daniels alerted us to the grave funding situation facing New Mexico's courts, and I am glad legislators could work together in collegial manner to meet the needs of New Mexico's judiciary branch," said Gentry.