WOMEN'S SAFETY & PROTECTION ACT

HB0273

HOUSE BILL 273

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Rod Montoya
and
Andrea Reeb
and
John Block

and
William A. Hall
II
and
Nicole Chavez

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY; ENACTING THE WOMEN'S SAFETY AND
PROTECTION ACT; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; REQUIRING SINGLE-SEX
SPACES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS, PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND
JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITIES IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Women's Safety and Protect
ion Act".

SECTION 2.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Women's Safety and Protection Act:

A. "domestic violence shelter" means a facility
that provides shelter to victims of domestic violence,
nonconsensual sexual conduct or stalking;

B. "juvenile detention facility" means a facility
operated by the children, youth and families department for the
secure detention and treatment of people younger than eighteen
years of age, including persons under the jurisdiction of the
children's court, who are serving a sentence pursuant to a
conviction in a state court or who are detained while awaiting
disposition of charges against them;

C. "multiple occupancy restroom or changing room"
means an area designed or designated to be used by more than
one person at the same time and in which one or more people may
be in various stages of undress in the presence of other
individuals and includes:

(1) restrooms;

(2) locker rooms; and

(3) shower rooms;

D. "public school" means that part of a school
district that is a single attendance center in which
instruction is offered by one or more teachers and is
discernible as a building or group of buildings generally
recognized as an elementary, middle, junior high or high school
or any combination of those and includes a charter school; and

E. "sleeping quarters" means a room with more than
one bed and in which more than one person is housed overnight.

SECTION 3.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] SEX-BASED PROTECTIONS--PERMITTED.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, no state agency or other arm of the state shall
prohibit distinctions between the sexes with respect to
athletics, correctional facilities, juvenile detention
facilities, domestic violence shelters or other accommodations
where biology, safety or privacy are implicated that result in
separate accommodations that are substantially related to the
important government interest of protecting the health, safety
and privacy of individuals in such circumstances.

SECTION 4.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] SAFETY AND PRIVACY--DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE SHELTERS.--

A. To ensure the privacy and safety of women in
domestic violence shelters, each such domestic violence shelter
shall:

(1) designate sleeping quarters and multiple
occupancy restrooms or changing rooms for the exclusive use of:

(a) females; or

(b) males; and

(2) provide a reasonable accommodation to an
individual who is unwilling or unable to use sleeping quarters
or a multiple occupancy restroom or changing room designated
for such individual's sex; provided that a reasonable
accommodation pursuant to this paragraph:

(a) may include allowing such people to
access a single-occupancy sleeping area, restroom or changing
area; and

(b) shall not include allowing such
people to access a sleeping quarter, restroom or changing area
that is designated for use by members of the opposite sex while
members of the opposite sex are present or may be present in
the sleeping quarter, restroom or changing area.

B. This section shall not be construed or applied
to prohibit a person from entering a multiple occupancy
restroom or changing room or sleeping quarters designated for
the opposite sex when that person enters such area for one of
the following reasons:

(1) for authorized custodial, maintenance or
inspection purposes;

(2) to render medical assistance;

(3) for law enforcement to render assistance;

(4) to provide services or render aid during a
natural disaster, a declared emergency or when necessary to
prevent a serious threat to order or safety; or

(5) for young children to accompany an adult
caretaker.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit a domestic violence shelter from adopting policies
necessary to accommodate persons protected pursuant to the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

SECTION 5.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] SAFETY AND PRIVACY--PUBLIC
SCHOOLS.--

A. To ensure the privacy and safety of students,
each public school shall:

(1) designate multiple occupancy restrooms or
changing rooms:

(a) for the exclusive use of females;
and

(b) for the exclusive use of males; and

(2) provide a reasonable accommodation to a
person who is unwilling or unable to use a multiple occupancy
restroom or changing area designated for that person's sex;
provided that a reasonable accommodation pursuant to this
paragraph:

(a) may include allowing that person to
access a single-occupancy restroom or changing area; and

(b) shall not include allowing that
person to access a restroom or changing area that is designated
for use by members of the opposite sex while members of the
opposite sex are present or may be present in the restroom or
changing area.

B. A public school that sponsors or supervises an
overnight trip involving public school students shall ensure
that a public school student attending the overnight trip
either:

(1) shares sleeping quarters with a member or,
if necessary, multiple members, of the same sex; or

(2) is provided single-occupancy sleeping
quarters, except that a public school student attending an
overnight trip may share sleeping quarters with a member of the
opposite sex if the member of the opposite sex is a member of
such student's immediate family.

C. This section shall not be construed or applied
to prohibit a person from entering a multiple occupancy
restroom or changing room designated for the opposite sex when
that person enters such area for one of the following reasons:

(1) for authorized custodial, maintenance, or
inspection purposes;

(2) to render medical assistance;

(3) to render assistance by law enforcement;

(4) to provide services or render aid during a
natural disaster, a declared emergency, or when necessary to
prevent a serious threat to order or safety; or

(5) for young children to accompany an adult
caretaker.

D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit a public school from adopting policies necessary to
accommodate persons protected pursuant to the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990.

SECTION 6.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] SAFETY AND PRIVACY--CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES--JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITIES.--

A. To ensure the privacy and safety of incarcerated
women and girls, each correctional facility and juvenile
detention facility shall:

(1) designate sleeping quarters and multiple
occupancy restrooms or changing rooms:

(a) for the exclusive use of females;
and

(b) for the exclusive use of males; and

(2) provide a reasonable accommodation to a
person who is unwilling or unable to use sleeping quarters or a
multiple occupancy restroom or changing area designated for
that person's sex; provided that a reasonable accommodation
under this paragraph:

(a) may include allowing that person to
access a single-occupancy sleeping area, restroom or changing
area; and

(b) shall not include allowing that
person to access a sleeping quarter, restroom or changing area
that is designated for use by members of the opposite sex while
members of the opposite sex are present or may be present in
the sleeping quarter, restroom or changing area.

B. This section shall not be construed or applied
to prohibit a person from entering a multiple occupancy
restroom, changing room or sleeping quarter designated for the
opposite sex when that person enters such area for the
following reasons:

(1) for authorized custodial, maintenance or
inspection purposes;

(2) to render medical assistance;

(3) to render assistance by law enforcement;

(4) to provide services or render aid during a
natural disaster, a declared emergency or when necessary to
prevent a serious threat to order or safety; or

(5) for young children to accompany an adult
caretaker.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit a correctional facility or juvenile detention facility
from adopting policies necessary to accommodate persons
protected pursuant to the federal Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990.

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