Bill for climate projects funds clears Senate, sparks debate

Legislation to establish a fund to support projects aimed at curbing climate change and mitigating its impacts cleared the New Mexico Senate on Tuesday despite efforts by Republicans to derail the proposal.

Following three hours of debate and a flurry of amendments offered by opponents of the bill, Senate Bill 48 (S.B. 48) made it out of the Senate on a 23-15 vote. It will next be heard in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

S.B. 48 would create the Community Benefit Fund to support projects and economic development related to renewable energy infrastructure, reduce fossil fuel consumption, modernize electricity grids and safeguard communities against the worst impacts of climate-related disasters.

Although it is the number two oil-producing state, New Mexico has worked in recent years to attain an economy with zero-carbon energy production and provided a series of subsidies and tax credits to encourage renewable energy.

New Mexico Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) and the bill’s sponsor said that $340 million had initially been appropriated for the fund in S.B. 48. However, an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee stripped that money from the bill.

She said money exists in the Legislature’s proposed budget dedicated to the fund, but explained that while it might not be the $340 million initially sought, but “the primary amount remains.”

“We have communities statewide that are asking for resources to invest, adapt and innovate in the face of a changing climate,” she said.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Stewart claimed that local governments, nonprofit organizations, private businesses and other entities have come forward with $1.4 billion in projects that would meet the criteria for funding under the bill.

Projects she mentioned ranged from initiatives related to clean energy expansion in Eddy County to a solar technician apprenticeship program for displaced workers in San Juan County.

The proposed fund comes at a time when New Mexico has fallen victim to extreme weather events, including large floods and wildfires, as well as drought conditions that many have attributed to climate change.

Stewart mentioned a finding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association that since 1980, there has been over $2.6 trillion in damage from climate-related disasters.

Efforts, she said, must be undertaken to safeguard communities and lessen the risks associated with climate change while at the same time fostering economic development in emerging fields.

“I believe that we cannot afford to wait until the next wildfire, flood or water crisis before taking action,” she said after the debate had concluded on S.B. 48.

Republicans argued that New Mexico can’t achieve its ambitious climate goals and voiced worry that climate change efforts could impede oil production, taxes from which comprise nearly half of the state’s budget revenue.

“How arrogant to believe that these projects could alter the course of climate change by any measurable number of degrees. A more appropriate course of action would be to educate and equip our constituents so that they are prepared to adapt to whatever ‘climate crisis’ the extreme environmentalists keep claiming is going to happen,” state Sen. Larry Scott (R-Hobbs) said in a press release issued by the New Mexico Senate Republicans.

The conversation that followed Stewart’s introduction of the bill gave way to discussion by Senate Republicans on seven proposed amendments, all of which failed to win support. The discussion often veered into the heated issue of climate change, as well as the merits and drawbacks of renewable energy.

The proposed amendments ranged from inserting language to add nuclear energy and natural gas to the bill’s definition of renewable energy to requiring that 43% of all parking spaces in the parking garage that lawmakers use be equipped with charging stations. Lawmakers under that proposal would have to pay to charge electric vehicles at the charging stations using a debit card.

The 43% references an administrative rule that the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board adopted in late 2023 that will require that by 2026, 43% of all passenger cars and light duty trucks delivered by manufacturers to New Mexico dealerships be zero emissions vehicles.

Another amendment from New Mexico Senate Minority Whip Pat Woods (R-Broadview) would have inserted language to prohibit the governor, lieutenant governor and any employee or contractor from the New Mexico Environment Department from driving non-electric vehicles.

Other amendments would have prevented the fund from awarding money until the level of revenue the state takes in from the extraction industry falls below 35%.

State Sen. Jim Townsend (R-Artesia) sponsored an amendment that would repeal S.B. 48 if oil and gas revenue fell below 35% of state revenue.

Defenders of the amendments said that they intended to safeguard the state finances from any downturn in oil production.

“We are just trying to provide guardrails for the taxpayers of New Mexico so that they don’t incur additional taxes should revenues fall for any reason,” Townsend said.

Not all speakers during the debate were against the fund.

State Sen. Cary Hamblen (D-Las Cruces) said her district would be helped by the fund, stating it will provide money to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities, such as paving a trail in a portion of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. Stewart pushed back against critics claiming that absent proactive investment, communities across the state would be unprepared for the effects of climate change.

“It’s just embarrassing to me that so many would say no to delivering funds for our communities,” Stewart said.