NM Legislative recap Feb. 19: Students press lawmakers for a greener future

Yahoo

20-02-2025

Approximately 150 students from El Camino Real Academy and El Dorado Community School marched from the Santa Fe Farmers Market to the Roundhouse on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)
Elementary and middle school students wearing lime green T-shirts lobbied state lawmakers in Santa Fe on Wednesday to support legislation that would create sustainable jobs as part of a transition away from fossil fuels.
Around noon on Wednesday, approximately 150 students from El Camino Real Academy and El Dorado Community School marched from the Santa Fe Farmers Market to the Roundhouse.
Once inside the Capitol, they spoke with Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) and Reps. Kristina Ortez (D-Taos), Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces) and Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), said Berenice Estrada, political director with The Semilla Project, a nonprofit focused on culturally-affirming outdoor education and land-based learning for young people from Black, Indigenous and other communities of color.
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'We have seen that our community needs these jobs in New Mexico,' Estrada said. 'A lot of them have to travel outside of the state in order to get a pre-apprenticeship to then come back to the state and work for an out-of-state company. We want to make sure that we implement this green infrastructure and green economy in New Mexico.'
The Semilla Project is supporting bills that would increase water quality protections; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; grants for local communities to reduce pollution or mitigate impacts from climate change; and require utility companies to treat all customers fairly.
The group is also asking for $8 million to be added to the existing New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund, which connects underserved young people with access to nature with outdoor opportunities.
More students are expected to come to the Capitol on Thursday as part of GenGreen Week, a series of actions meant to inspire Generation Z to actively engage in environmental protection efforts and the transition toward a green future, said Victoria Alarcón Macías, an advocacy fellow with The Semilla Project.
Alarcón Macías said bringing young people to the Capitol helps teach them the importance of advocating for their beliefs and passions.
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'People of color are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis and climate change, so I think it's important to also consider all New Mexicans,' she said.
The Food Depot, a food bank that services most of Northern New Mexico, urged lawmakers on Wednesday to pass House Joint Resolution 11, which would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to repeal and replace the anti-donation clause, which prohibits the state from giving money directly to communities in certain scenarios.
Jill Dixon, the organization's director, said in a statement the clause creates delays or legal barriers for food banks, libraries, community centers, mental health organizations and others.
Dixon said the clause 'makes it nearly impossible to channel critical funding into rural and frontier areas that lack a municipality to take on the administrative burden.'
The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee on Tuesday let the legislation pass without a recommendation. It awaits a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.
Tomorrow, Feb. 20, marks the last day for lawmakers to introduce legislation. As of Wednesday morning, 987 pieces of legislation had been introduced, and about 250 of them had passed at least one committee.
You can track legislation you're interested in with Source New Mexico's bill tracker here.
As of 5:07 p.m., the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee was wrangling with lawmakers' fifth effort in five years to pass a controversial paid family and medical leave policy. Public comment for HB11 was limited but took 40 minutes, as lobbyists watched on their phones outside the packed committee room.
The House Education Committee delayed taking action on a bill that would require defibrillators in every high school; voted to pass a bill that would make college faculty eligible for public service loan forgiveness; and approved a bill that would allow more teachers to be certified to teach computer science.
The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee voted to pass a bill that would require some aggregated personal and business tax data to be shared with the Legislative Finance Committee.
The House Health and Human Services Committee voted 6-4 to advance House Bill 417, which would raise New Mexico's tax on alcohol for the first time in 30 years and re-direct revenue toward treatment and programs.
The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the Wildfire Prepared Act, which is Senate Bill 33. The bill would allocate $20 million to the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department for employees and programs to reduce community wildfire risk. It would also create a 16-member task force charged with establishing wildfire preparedness standards.
Lawmakers said they will have to figure out how that bill fits into the legislative puzzle for addressing wildfire risk this session, including how to avoid duplicating spending or programs being tackled in Senate Bill 81, for example, which revamps the state-operated property insurance program with grants for private property mitigation.
Reporter Lily Alexander contributed to this report.