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SB 74NEW MEXICOSession 2026State Billdead

Did Not Advance

New Mexico Senate Bill 74 raises penalties for cockfighting to a fourth-degree felony

Original title: COCKFIGHTING PENALTIES

Last action · January 22, 2026: Sent to SCC - Referrals: SCC/SJC/SFCSponsors: Craig Brandt and 1 other

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Proposed

Senate Bill 74 increases the criminal penalties for cockfighting by making any violation related to cocks a , aligning penalties with those for dog fighting.

Why it matters

Residents participating in, organizing, or equipping birds for cockfighting face an increased classification of criminal charges, moving from tiered misdemeanors on early offenses to a blanket .

Background

New Mexico has historically maintained separate penalty tiers for dog fighting and cockfighting, with cockfighting carrying lesser penalties on initial convictions. context
State of New Mexico is the governmental entity enacting legislation through its legislature. context

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Individuals participating in or organizing cockfights

Offenders face harsher criminal charges, as all cockfighting violations are elevated to a fourth-degree felony regardless of prior record.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Senate Bill 74 change about cockfighting penalties?

It removes the lower tiered penalties for first and second offenses involving cocks and makes any violation a .

Are dog fighting penalties changed by this bill?

No, dog fighting violations were already classified as a ; the bill updates cockfighting penalties to match them.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.

Procedural history

1 action

Jan 22, 2026SenateCommittee
Sent to SCC - Referrals: SCC/SJC/SFC

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Alignment of Animal Fighting Penalties

The bill removes historical distinctions in sentencing between dog fighting and cockfighting by making both subject to fourth-degree felony charges.

State of New Mexico

Connected Entities

Craig Brandt, Catherine Cullen, State of New Mexico

PersonCraig Brandt“Introduced Senate Bill 74”Map →

PersonCatherine Cullen“Cosponsored Senate Bill 74”Map →

locationState of New Mexico“Jurisdiction where the bill is introduced”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.nmlegis.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance20
Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
Controversy50
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz25
Current news / social attention level

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