Public News Service Highlights Our Event

Today the New Mexico News Connection ran the story New Mexico panelists tackle food, farming and fairness. The coverage is related to our event Our Sacred Lands: Food, Farming, and Fairness, scheduled on Wednesday evening, March 6, at 6:00 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2801 Lomas Blvd SE The event offers the option of in-person attendance or virtual attendamce.

New Mexico News Connection is a part of Public News Service, an independent network of state-based news services. Our goal is threefold: to support an informed and engaged public, fund independent journalism, and tell the stories of people doing public interest work in communities across the country. You can also check out our social media listed below.

IPL New Mexico-El Paso, Citizens Caring for the Future Join 27 Other Groups in Petition to Governor

IPL New Mexico & El Paso and Citizens Caring for the Future were among a group of 29  environmental and civic organizations signing a letter to Gov. Lujan Grisham urging her to line-item veto parts of House Bill 252 that would create an oil and gas severance tax exemption for “stripper well properties” for the costs of complying with the state’s 2021 methane waste rule and 2022 ozone precursor rule. If signed into law, this bill would perversely give companies a tax break for costs incurred to protect the public against hazards of these businesses’ own creation.

We adapted the above paragraph from an article written by The Western Enviromental Law Center. Here is the rest of the piece

“In its analysis, the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee found the exemption could cost the state $17.2 million in revenue between fiscal years 2025 to 2028, reduce bonding capacity by $18.8 million over the same time period, increase the Oil Conservation Division’s annual operating costs by $200,000, and require two new full-time-equivalent OCD employees. This tax giveaway to oil and gas operators therefore comes at the expense of the severance tax’s permanent fund and agency capacity at the precise time the state should be leveraging its resources to prepare for the inevitable decline of oil and gas revenue and production.

“House Bill 252’s oil and gas severance tax exemption reflects well-founded public concerns that the political deck is decidedly stacked in favor of the oil and gas industry, not the people of New Mexico,” said Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the Western Environmental Law Center. “The oil and gas industry secured this severance tax exemption in the shadows while gutting sensible oil and gas reforms backed by the Lujan Grisham administration and other state officials. Line-item vetoing HB 252’s oil and gas severance tax exemption provides Gov. Lujan Grisham with an opportunity to stand strong for the people of New Mexico.”

Several state agencies expressed concern with the severance tax exemption:

  • The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department wrote in its fiscal impact report that the exemption “[w]ould set a precedent in tax policy that businesses may lower their tax liability to financially support complying with other business regulations and laws for operations. All businesses across all industries have business costs to meet varying laws, regulations and reporting. This would erode horizontal equity among taxpayers.”
  • The New Mexico State Land Office warned the exemption “[w]ould incentivize producers to continue operating poorly producing stripper wells [and] could result in the state/taxpayers incurring the legacy remediation and reclamation costs of the wells.”
  • And, as observed by the Attorney General, “[t]he Severance Tax Act and the Incentives Act already give favorable tax treatment to production from stripper wells.”

“A fundamental economic principle is businesses should bear the external social costs they create,” said Kayley Shoup, community organizer for Citizens Caring for the Future. “Oil and gas operators—not the public—should pay the compliance costs of reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations to protect our climate and to reduce toxic air pollutants that harm public health. A tax break to the industry that is polluting the air where my neighbors and I live in the Permian Basin is simply not warranted.”

The groups signing on to the letter include the Western Environmental Law Center, 350 New Mexico, Albuquerque Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Center For Civic Policy, Chaco Alliance, Citizens Caring For The Future, Earth Action, Inc., Earthworks, Environmental Defense Fund, FracTracker Alliance, Indivisible Albuquerque, League Of Women Voters New Mexico, Moms Clean Air Force New Mexico Chapter, New Energy Economy, New Mexico Climate Justice, New Mexico Interfaith Power And Light, New Mexico Sportsmen, New Mexico Voices For Children, New Mexico Voters For Children Action Fund, New Mexico Wild, Progressive Democrats Of America – Central New Mexico, ProgressNow New Mexico, Prosperity Works, Rio Arriba Concerned Citizens, Rio Grande Indivisible, New Mexico, San Juan Citizens Alliance, See (Social Eco Education), and WildEarth Guardians.”

 

IPL New Mexico-El Paso Roundhouse Report

We are called to work for life.

We are called to love creation.

We are grateful for all who worked so hard, and prayed for so many concerns during the legislative session that ended February 15.

While the session is over, our work is not over.

 

Overview of some of the areas and bills IPL followed

(and many of you worked for during the 30-day budget session).

Appropriations and bills related to environment, environmental health and climate that PASSED

HB 2-General Appropriations for 2024 which included $300M for the Conservation Lgacy Fund; $75M for the Match Fund; $10M for Climate Investment Center; $7M for Surface and Ground Water Permitting

Tax package Feeder Bills that included funding for Numerous Tax credit bills for solar, energy storage, clean cars, geothermal and energy storage.

HB 41  -Clean Transportation Fuel Standards

HB 177 NM Match Fund

HB 5  Workforce Development & Apprenticeship Fund

CS/ HB 211/a   Water Project Prioritization

Bills related to environment, health and climate that did not make it through

We all continue to work in these areas throughout the year and into the future for our communities and young ones as we strive to care for our sacred land, water, air and communities.

HB 133 Oil & Gas Act Changes –reform for financial assurances and codifying methane rules in New Mexico

Bills to increase bonding through increased royalties in oil and gas industry on state land

Memorial to study setbacks in oil and gas industry related to human and environmental health

SB 79 Statewide Composting Program

Pollinator protection

HB 104 Statewide Public Health and Climate Program

HJR4 and SJR8 NM Green Amendment