A constitutional amendment aimed at reforming New Mexico's bail bond system has cleared the state Senate.
The chamber voted 29-9 in favor of the proposal, sending it to the House for consideration.
If approved, the question of whether to give judges the authority to deny bail to dangerous defendants would be put before the voters during the next general election in November.
The proposal would also allow judges to grant pretrial release to low-risk defendants who are being held because they are too poor to make bond.
The amendment's sponsor, Democrat Sen. Peter Wirth of Santa Fe, said the proposal is the result of many months of work by a task force of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, bail bondsmen and others. He said the current system simply hasn't been working.
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