Scored Bills

Bills

Click on the name or number of any specific piece of legislation, and you’ll be directed to an individual page that features a description of the piece of legislation or amendment, the outcome of the measure, each legislator’s voting record, and more. Click on an issue name to learn more about that topic, and to see the full list of related Scorecard votes.

Photo: Organ Mountains, southern New Mexico east of Las Cruces. Flickr: BLM

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Conservation

Bill #	Title	Sponsors	CVNM Position	Year
HB 77	Energy Storage System Tax Credits more Summary: HB 77 would have established a tax credit for consumers and for businesses who installed a storage system for electricity generated by renewable resources. The bill established a cap for the amount of the tax credit, the aggregate amount of tax credits per year, and would have expired at the end of 2024. This bill, if passed, would have incentivized the development of electricity storage technologies and helped to expand the use of renewable resources for energy production. Outcome: HB 77 died in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.	Debra M. Sariñana	Support	2018
HB 87	Solar Market Development Income Tax Credit more Summary: HB 87 would have allowed taxpayers to take up to a 10% tax credit for installing thermal or photovoltaic solar systems, for both residential and business installations. It established a $5 million aggregate cap for the amount of tax credits taken in a year, but did not separate out residential and business installations. It was simpler than HB 36, but would have accomplished the same goal of promoting the use of renewable energy. Outcome: HB 87 died in the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. Its companion, SB 79, passed both the House and the Senate.	Debbie A. Rodella Patricio Ruiloba Carl Trujillo	Support	2018
HB 98	Local Election Act more Summary: HB 98 proposes scheduling changes to elections so that local elections occur at the same time as general elections. It also makes provisions for certain elections to be conducted by mail ballot and prohibits advisory-only questions on ballots. Having all elections scheduled together would most likely result in higher turnout for local elections, resulting in more accurate representation of voters’ support for conservation issues. Outcome: HB 98 passed the House 51-10 and passed the Senate 25-15. The bill was signed by the Governor on March 7, 2018.	Paul C. Bandy James E. Smith Daniel A. Ivey-Soto	Support	2018
HB 127	NM Unit Fund Water Projects more Summary: HB 127 would have made appropriations from the New Mexico Unit Fund to the Interstate Stream Commission for shovel-ready water projects in southwest New Mexico that were alternatives to a Gila River diversion, including: $12 million for bulk water supplies to Hurley, Bayard, Santa Clara and Silver City; $34 million for water supply projects in the southwest New Mexico regional water planning area; $3.5 million to contract for collection of new ground water and geologic data; and $500,000 to evaluate and plan alternatives for the city of Deming for a remote well field. Outcome: HB 127 died in the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee.	Rodolpho S. Martinez Bill McCamley	Support	2018
HB 161	Agriculture & Vegetable Seed Law Preemption more Summary: HB 161 would have prohibited local governments from creating and enforcing ordinances affecting agricultural or vegetable seeds (state preemption). This would have removed local control of agricultural products and interfered with culturally significant agricultural practices. Outcome: HB 161 died in the House State Government, Indian and Veteran’s Affairs Committee.	Jimmie C. Hall William R. Rehm	Oppose	2018
HB 208	Study Workforce Training & Education more Summary: HB 208 would have appropriated $250K to study the education and training programs necessary to build a workforce to meet the demand for uranium site clean-up. While this bill did not pass, the budget that passed contained funding for this item at a level of $200K, ensuring that this important training component is sufficiently studied. Unfortunately, Gov. Martinez line item vetoed this funding. Outcome: HB 208 died in the House Appropriation and Finance Committee.	Eliseo Lee Alcon Harry Garcia D. Wonda Johnson Patricia A. Lundstrom Elizabeth Thomson	Support	2018
HB 220	Reduce Various Coal Taxes more Summary: HB 220 would have allowed a deduction on the gross receipts tax on coal and lowered the severance tax on the extraction of coal until 2031. This would have propped up dirty energy profits without addressing the impending economic and employment impacts of coal plant closure, all at the expense of taxpayers. Outcome: HB 220 died in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.	Eliseo Lee Alcon Harry Garcia James R.J. Strickler	Oppose	2018
HJM 6	VW Settlement Funds for Electric School Buses more Summary: HJM 6 was a joint memorial that requested that the state’s $18 million Volkswagen settlement funds be used to acquire electric school buses, as diesel school bus emissions negatively affect the health of children and communities. Outcome: HJM 6 died in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.	Patricia Roybal Caballero Linda M. Lopez	Support	2018
SB 47	Energy Redevelopment Bonds more Summary: SB 47 would have allowed a qualifying public utility to seek a financial order from the PRC allowing it to issue "energy redevelopment bonds" to offset the costs of abandoning a coal-fired energy generating facility and replacing it with other energy generating facilities, and established that the cost of those bonds may be passed through to the utilities' customers. It would have allowed PNM to recoup 100% of the cost of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station, would not have required them to replace its function with a facility using renewable energy, and would have allowed them to pass costs on to ratepayers. The measure also represented a significant end-run around the PRC, the body intended to regulate electric utilities. SB 47 was replaced by a Senate Conservation Committee sub. The sub included ambitious renewable energy targets, but continued to fall short on guarantees of ratepayer protection, PRC review, closure of the coal plant, and protection of free market competition in the renewable energy sector. HB 325, a dummy bill, was filed late in the session and attempted to address some of the issues addressed in SB 47. To read more about HB 325, visit our website at www.CVNM.org. Outcome: SB 47 died in the Senate Conservation Committee.	Jacob R. Candelaria Steven P. Neville Rod Montoya	Oppose	2018
SB 54	Capital Outlay Project Publication more Summary: SB 54 would have required the publishing of all capital outlay projects that are approved and appropriated funding on the legislative website, in a user-friendly format with specific details for each project. It would have allowed the public to keep track of capital outlay projects, including those that affect conservation and the environment. Outcome: SB 54 died in the Senate Finance Committee.	Sander Rue	Support	2018
SB 72	Southwest NM Water Projects more Summary: SB 72 would have made appropriations from the New Mexico Unit Fund to the Interstate Stream Commission for shovel-ready water projects in southwest New Mexico that were alternatives to a Gila River diversion, including: $12 million for bulk water supplies to Hurley, Bayard, Santa Clara and Silver City; $34 million for water supply projects in the southwest New Mexico regional water planning area; $3.5 million to contract for collection of new ground water and geologic data; and $500,000 to evaluate and plan alternatives for the city of Deming for a remote well field. Outcome: SB 72 died in the Senate Finance Committee.	Howie C. Morales	Support	2018
SB 79	Solar Market Development Tax Credit more Summary: SB 79 would have allowed taxpayers to take up to a 10% tax credit for installing thermal or photovoltaic solar systems, for both residential and business installations. It established a $5 million aggregate cap for the amount of tax credits taken in a year, but did not separate out residential and business installations. It was simpler than HB 36, and would have accomplished the same goal of promoting the use of renewable energy. Outcome: SB 79 passed the Senate 35-6 and passed the House 40-26. The bill was pocket vetoed by the Governor.	Mimi Stewart	Support	2018
SB 135	Oil & Gas Act Penalties & Protests more Summary: SB 135 would have amended the Oil & Gas Act to allow the imposition of civil penalties, established the penalties and provided a method for appeal of those penalties. It changed criminal to civil penalties in the event of a violation of the Oil & Gas Act, making violations reasonably enforceable. However, it only provided for a $1000 per day penalty with a $25,000 cap, so was unlikely to be an effective tool to protect land, air, water and communities that are negatively impacted by violations of the Oil & Gas Act. Outcome: SB 135 died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.	Daniel A. Ivey-Soto	Oppose	2018
SB 189	Assurance for Plugging Oil & Gas Wells more Summary: SB 189 increases the cap of the amount of the surety bond a company must post for the plugging of an inactive oil or gas well from $50,000 to $250,000. This increased amount is more in line with the cost of plugging a well and remediating a plugged well that leaks, blows out or otherwise fails. Outcome: SB 189 passed the Senate 40-0 and passed the House 54-11. The bill was signed by the Governor on February 28, 2018.	Richard C. Martinez	Support	2018
SB 251	Uranium Site Workforce Training Study more Summary: SB 251 would have appropriated $250K to study the education and training programs necessary to build a workforce to meet the demand for uranium site clean-up. While this bill did not pass, the budget that passed contained funding for this item at a level of $200K, ensuring that this important training component is sufficiently studied. Unfortunately, Gov. Martinez line item vetoed this funding. Outcome: SB 251 died in the Senate Finance Committee.	John Pinto	Support	2018

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