New Mexico & El Paso
Community leaders across New Mexico today applauded the introduction of the Climate Solutions Act (HB 9), highlighting its science-based approach and focus on historically disadvantaged communities. They called on state legislators to protect public health and New Mexico’s air and water resources from climate change and to accelerate a just transition to a more diversified and resilient economy built by and for everyday New Mexicans.
The 2021 New Mexico Legislative session runs from January 19 through March 20. This post contains are summaries and links for some of our top priority bills.
See a list of priority bills for the current session that the Rio Grande Chapter is watching.
Luis Guerrero is our new Legislative and Political Organizer with the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter.
It was a tumultuous year. We had major victories and a few setbacks.
This is a complex moment for legislative transformation. On the one hand, New Mexicans are clearly communicating their desire for big, bold change. We demonstrated that in the elections, creating a progressive state Senate to go with our progressive House.
On Nov. 19, the Navajo Nation, Western Albuquerque Land Holdings (WAHL) and Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility announced an agreement on a pipeline easement to allow the Village of To’hajiilee to access desperately needed water.
A surprise merger, New Mexico’s biggest electric utility exiting the state’s biggest coal plant and the potential acquisition of that share by Navajo Transitional Energy Company all have big implications for Four Corners communities, Navajo Nation, ratepayers and the coal plant’s lifespan.
If there’s any good news about the Trump administration, it must be that they were massively incompetent in pursuing the dismantlement of environmental regulation. Environmental lawyers have stopped many of these efforts, or held them up in courts, so that the new Administration can now reverse the legal positions of the Trump/Barr lawyers. Each of Trump’s actions has to be approached carefully, especially with a Supreme Court that we can presume to be hostile to environmental regulation.
The 2021 incoming ExCom members include many familiar and new faces, bringing a wealth of experience and commitment to organizing to protect our climate, land, wildlife, water and people.