Update date 2/7/17
Make your voice heard by contacting your State Senator or Representative to ask them to support bills for a secure water and climate future or to oppose bills that you think need to be stopped! Write on any issue you care about and / or consider some of the bills below. Please remember — by writing a letter, making a phone call or testifying at a committee hearing you make a difference!
To find an issue that you care about, here are some tips.
- Find your legislator (click here)!
- Search for bills on issues you care about using keywords (click here)!
- Contact your legislators using phone, email, or simply dropping a letter or, even better, a hand-written note at the legislator’s office.
HOT Legislation to keep an eye on and consider contacting your legislators
Here are some bills you might consider when researching what issue to write about. Click on the bill number to see background info on the bill (the text, the analysis, where it is scheduled):
HB 61 / SB 41– Solar Market Tax Credit. The bill extends the current 10% tax credit for the installation of solar panels (both photovoltaic and hot water). The bill would result in more solar panel installations and decreased reliance on power generated from coal, nuclear and oil by giving people a financial incentive to install these systems. The tax credit would end/sunset by 2025.
HB 24 – State Lands Restoration and Remediation Fund. Diverts 1% of oil & gas and other revenue and puts it towards land, water and watershed restoration on NM State lands, up to $578,000 per year.
HB 92 – Stricter Game & Fish Violation Penalties. By increasing penalties on wildlife poachers, this bill would likely protect game animals and fish.
SB 215 – Energy & Water Project Financing: This bill creates a brand new tool for homeowners and business owners to finance energy and water efficiency by adding a line to their property taxes that can get paid off over 20 years.
SB 81 – Wildlife Trafficking Act – Prohibits animals threatened with extinction from being bought and sold in NM by closing loopholes in federal law and makes enforcement easier.
SB 182 – Transfers federal mineral rights on private lands over to NM State Land Office for more oil & gas development to fund education. Private landowners are concerned about this bill promoting accelerated oil and gas development on their land. Public land advocates are concerned about the precedent this sets towards transferring public lands to the states. The revenue, which would go towards child education, could be generated in other ways say people who are opposed to this.
SB 268 – Ban Coyote Killing Contests. Would stop coyote killing contests.
SB 312 – Renewable Energy Requirement for Utilities – This bill sets goals for the State of New Mexico to increase the amount of renewable energy in its supply portfolio until by 2040 New Mexico would be getting 70% of its energy from renewable sources. It also requires that renewable energy comprise 80% of total retail sales to NM customers of public utilities by 2040. This bill would lead to reduce fossil fuel use for energy generation, reduce greenhouse gases, and protect air quality.
SB 86 – Water Rights Notices Posted Online. The bill requires the NM State Engineer to post water rights applications online to encourage more transparency in assigning water rights.
SB 226 – Efficient Utility Water Use – This bill requires public utilities to include water use efficiency in their plans and other efficiency approaches to be included. It also specifies that water quality needs to be addressed in their plans. This bill would require new energy production projects to be evaluated in it’s impact on water quality and water quantity.
SB 210 / HB 199 – Distributed Generation Consumer Protection – While this bill requires solar installers to disclose important features to consumers such as warranty and components, it also goes much further by requiring installers to include statements that are unnecessarily alarming, biased against distributed solar energy systems and so obvious as to not need a requirement such as “Actual utility rates may go up or down and actual savings may vary.”
River Source does not endorse or oppose any of these bills but provides this information to you so you can consider and take your own position on them
You can also find more information about these and other bills by going to:
