By the Rio Grande Chapter Lobby Team
The specter of a systematic dismantling of our country’s bedrock environmental laws can drain the heart in a flash. The climate crisis that is in full display can cause the same heart to despair at the thought of rolling back our federal energy work. But we’ve fought back before against Bush and Trump policies. Here in our Democratic trifecta state, however, we have a Governor and legislature who have for years led the nation with climate and environment policies. With the incoming Trump administration, our policy makers will have to lead like never before.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is heading into the last 60-day legislative session of her term. For the first time, our legislature comes in with a female majority in both houses and a progressive majority at that. There will be lots of urgent action to take on many fronts, but the climate, water and wildlife conservation will take center stage.
This year Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo), is introducing a suite of three bills curbing climate pollutants and funding a community and worker transition, top priorities for the Sierra Club.
The Clear Horizons Act will take the next steps we need to reduce our state’s greenhouse gas emissions. New Mexico has taken real action to reduce our emissions from the electric, oil and gas, transportation and buildings sectors, but with the Permian Basin oil boom, we need to take the next step in further reducing our emissions. This legislation will put the governor’s GHG reduction goals into law and ensure rule-making and enforcement.
Sen. Stewart’s Community Benefits Fund bill will generate money for an array of existing funds that support our climate transition, from paying for weatherization of low-income homes, to building out the green infrastructure we need to transition away from fossil fuels, to helping to pay for workforce development in new sustainable fields.
Lastly, the Innovation in State Government bill will help ensure that the agency supporting these climate safeguards and programs will have the resources they need to effectively implement them. These three bills lay the groundwork to truly lead our region and country in complying with our Paris climate commitments even if our federal government refuses to protect our communities and people.
These are not the only bills that will be heard this session and we’ll keep you posted as the session approaches. The following bills are being considered for introduction in the next legislative session
- PowerUp NM – ensure the buildout of our distribution grid, making sure renewable electricity can make it efficiently to where it will be used.
- Appliance Standard Act – ensure that the most efficient appliances are sent to our state.
- Building Code Updates – require regular updates to energy conservation building codes to provide the most energy savings for building occupants.
- EV Battery Second Life – support the reuse, repurposing and recycling of EV batteries as the market for these batteries grows.
- Electric School Bus – create the financial and technical support for school districts bringing on electric school buses.
- Low Income Utility Protections – would let utilities to do low-income rates while another bill would protect net-metering for income limited families.
- Oil and Gas Setbacks from Schools – to protect kids from industrial pollution
- State Land Office Royalty Rate – allows the State Land Commissioner to increase royalty rates on the state’s highest production lands, asking a minimum of market rate for extraction off these lands.
- Game Commission Reform – so that can protect all New Mexico species, not just those that are hunted for sport.
- Ensure that appropriations for water rights for the river can be used over the course of several years.
- Two bills will ensure that New Mexico can regulate waters left unprotected by the US Supreme Court.
- Budget items would provide funds for updating air conditioning and solar panels on schools.
- Provide incentives for companies bringing on clean trucks.
- Funding to clean up groundwater spills from sources like dry cleaners.
And even with all of the positive forward-thinking legislation, we’ll need to look out for the bills of concern. Legislation to facilitate the storage of CO2 underground as an alternative to stopping the extraction or combustion of fossil fuels is not the best alternative. We are concerned about proposals to use treated produced water outside oil and gas operations, even though state rules don’t allow such a use. Last year severance tax breaks for certain oil and gas producers for certain pollution equipment passed but was vetoed, so we’ll be on the look out for that again.
This is an ambitious portfolio of legislation to protect New Mexico’s air, land, water, climate and communities. It’s a portfolio we can’t achieve without you.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Join our NM Climate Corps, which meets every Thursday during the session to learn about bills and how to help act on them.
- Fill out our grassroots lobby survey to share the ways you might like to get involved
- Join Lands, Water and Wildlife Day at the Roundhouse on Feb. 20.
- Join Climate Crisis Day at the Roundhouse on March 6
Email melissa.bernardin@sierraclub.org for more information.