Restaurant Reopenings Part of New Public Health Order

August 28, 2020 – Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists look at the new public health order that seems sure to please restaurant owners across New Mexico. The edict from Gov. Lujan Grisham’s administration allows restaurants to open indoor dining at 25% of capacity and more congregants to enter churches and houses of worship. The governor also scored a win with the New Mexico Supreme Court’s unanimous decision the governor had – and continues to have – the authority to close businesses like restaurants in a public health emergency.  

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Host: Gene Grant 

Line Panelists: 
Lonna Atkeson, UNM Political Science professor     
Dan Boyd, capitol bureau chief, Albuquerque Journal  
Laura Sanchez, attorney   

For More Information: 
New Mexico Eases Pandemic Restrictions as Virus Relents – Associated Press 
New Public Health Order Eases Restrictions on Gatherings, Indoor Dining – KOB 4 
NM Supreme Court: State Has Authority to Limit Indoor Dining – The NM Political Report 
‘We Didn’t Wait for the Feds’: How New Mexico Worked to Contain COVID – POLITICO 
Health Officials Warn Eased Health Restrictions Won’t Last if Residents’ Don’t Comply – Santa Fe New Mexican