Tenure
Lujan Grisham was sworn in on January 1, 2019. In September 2019, she announced a plan to make public universities in New Mexico tuition-free to state residents.
On January 29, 2019, Lujan Grisham signed an executive order calling for New Mexico to join the United States Climate Alliance and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030. This executive order also called for the state to develop comprehensive regulations to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, and for state agencies to work with the legislature to increase the state's renewable portfolio standard.
In March 2019, Lujan Grisham signed New Mexico's Energy Transition Act. The legislation transitions the state's electricity sector away from coal and natural gas and toward a renewable economy, requiring New Mexico's electricity to be 50% renewable by 2030 and 100% from zero-carbon sources by 2045. She called the legislation "a promise to future generations of New Mexicans."
On September 5, 2020, Lujan Grisham was named a co-chair of the Biden-Harris Transition Team, which was planning Joe Biden's presidential transition. In November, Lujan Grisham was named a candidate for United States Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration. On December 3, 2020, she was elected chair of the Democratic Governors Association for 2021, having served as vice chair in 2020.
In May 2021, Lujan Grisham and 12 others were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the former executive director of the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, alleging that she was not compensated at the same rate as her male counterparts. In August 2021, Lujan Grisham signed an executive order joining Biden's "30x30" land goal.
On September 8, 2023, Lujan Grisham issued an emergency order restricting carrying firearms in Albuquerque for 30 days. The order has been criticized by Republicans, civil rights advocates, some Democrats, and gun safety advocates as unconstitutional. On September 13, Judge David H. Urias issued a temporary restraining order blocking her order until October 3, when a hearing was held. On October 3, Urias extended the preliminary hold while he considers blocking the restrictions indefinitely.
In April 2025, Lujan Grisham signed into law Senate Bill 16, which allows unaffiliated or independent voters to participate in major-party primaries without changing their registration. The reform, which was broadly opposed by New Mexico Republicans and a few Democrats, takes effect in 2026 and aims to expand access for the state's growing number of independent voters (approximately 23% as of 2025), increasing voter participation and reducing partisan polarization.
