Latest news with #GeorgeMuñoz
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Snow melts, drought builds and NM legislators spike new oil regulations
As the end of the 2025 New Mexico Legislature draws near, lawmakers have spiked proposed regulations for the oil and gas industry Between the start of the year and March 7, oil and gas producers reported more than 7,125 spills across New Mexico — about 111 a day on average. Those spills include oil, produced water, other chemicals and natural gas, the last constituting the overwhelming majority of cases. In fact, companies lost as much natural gas through venting and flaring in that period as is used in more than 12,000 homes and small businesses in New Mexico for a year. That is despite state rules that prohibit routine venting and flaring. But none of that burned or vented natural gas flowed into the state budget. All of it flowed into the state's skies, contributing to New Mexico's — and the planet's — ongoing climate crisis, which is costing the state dearly. Most of that gas was released during the New Mexico Legislature's current session, where some legislators have proposed bills that would reduce those emissions. But so far, the Legislature has killed bills that would further reduce climate-warming emissions or new regulations for the oil and gas industry, the state's largest greenhouse gas emitter. The Legislature is controlled by Democrats, and as they promote oil and gas production, they also appear to be milking the industry for all they can. This story originally appeared in Capital & Main Between Feb. 24 and March 7, three bills creating new oil and gas regulations died. Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup), Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) and Rep. Meredith Dixon (D-Albuquerque) voted with House Republicans to end the bills. Those votes follow a pattern that began earlier in the session. Of the six oil and gas bills that passed committee hearings in those two weeks, only one proposed a new regulation, requiring oil and gas companies to disclose the chemical composition of drilling fluids. Another bill codifies the state's existing methane capture rules. (Both await hearings on the House floor.) Two bills would support the state's efforts to take over carbon sequestration well certification from the federal government. And the last two would raise fees and taxes on the industry — one by a little, the other by a lot. The first of the tax bills, Oil and Gas Royalty Rate Changes, was shot down in last year's legislative session and has returned this year in much slimmer form. It again would raise oil and gas royalty rates from 20 to 25%, but this version would raise rates only on new wells on state lands in the Permian Basin, the highest-producing region in the country. Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo) was the main sponsor last time. This time he's joined by Muñoz and House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Bernalillo), two of the most powerful politicians in the Roundhouse and the two Democrats in the Legislature who receive the most in oil and gas donations. In a hearing before the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, industry lobbyists spoke against the bill, saying the rate increase would make drilling unappealing to companies. But Sunalei Stewart, deputy commissioner of operations at the State Land Office, which manages leases on state lands, said the state will have no problem selling the parcels 'because there will be a ton of profit.' As if to prove the point, a representative from EOG Resources, the state's biggest oil and gas producer, called in to the hearing to voice the company's support for the bill. It now awaits debate on the House floor. The Oil and Gas Equalization Tax Act, authored by Small and Dixon, would 'equalize' the tax rates charged between oil and gas, currently 3.15% and 4%, respectively. According to Small, back in the 1990s, the rate on gas was bumped up a bit and the oil rate didn't follow suit. Numerically, it's a small increase of 0.85%, but according to the bill's fiscal report, it could net the state $400 million or more annually starting next year, because it increases the tax on the state's biggest, most valuable mineral resource. During the bill's first hearing on March 3 before the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, Small seemed unclear on the need for the dramatic increase in revenue, saying it could go to the state's General Fund. But 72 hours later, speaking before the House Taxation and Revenue Committee, Small had firmed up the reason: chaos from the federal government. 'The Federal Administration right now … has the potential to reduce the New Mexico state budget by a billion-plus dollars,' he said. 'That's a huge headwind.' The bill passed both committees but has not yet been added to the House floor calendar. Dixon defended the two carbon sequestration bills before the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on March 1. She co-sponsored the bills with Small and a trio of Republican representatives. The first bill would create the necessary legal framework for the state to take over licensing of so-called Class VI wells, which are used for long-term geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. Currently that is the purview of the federal government and a few other states. The second bill primarily sets up the financing and regulatory framework for the first. Both bills had strong support from the oil and gas industry — the head of the state's Petroleum Recovery Research Center at New Mexico Tech spoke as a technical expert on the bill — though Dixon took great pains to say that 'energy generation is not the only source of CO2.' She said that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, National Academy of Sciences and the International Energy Agency 'are unequivocal that carbon capture and storage is an absolutely necessary strategy to meet emissions reduction goals by 2050.' Most of those emissions have been caused by burning fossil fuels — like oil and gas. And those agencies also say that the quickest, most efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to not emit them in the first place. That includes cutting methane emissions from places like New Mexico's oilfields. According to a study last year from the National Academies (which includes the National Academy of Sciences), 'Most of the reductions in methane emissions from the oil and gas sector can be done at no to low cost to deliver fast climate and air quality benefits.' And in its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel views carbon capture and storage as among the most expensive carbon abatement options with the smallest carbon reductions for the near future. It's a view reflected by other groups as well. Another contentious issue: The bills would transfer liability for the wells to the state five years after companies have filled and plugged them, leaving New Mexico vulnerable to lawsuits and cleanup costs should the wells leak. Rep. Miguel P. Garcia (D-Bernalillo) said the deal is 'not offering the state anything of value but the state is taking the eventual liability.' Mike Eisenfeld, the energy and climate program manager at San Juan Citizens Alliance, is a watchdog on fossil fuel industry projects in the northwest corner of the state, where large sequestration wells are being studied. He said transferring the liability to the state is 'just ridiculous' and that the bill sponsors are 'trying to figure out what to do with all the pollution rather than stop the pollution.' Camilla Feibelman, director of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, said that the problem — and the liability — rests with industry, not the state. 'Your pollution, your job,' she said at the hearing. In the end, Dixon and Small voted with the committee Republicans to pass the sequestration bills. The second bill passed its House floor hearing 51-11 on Tuesday, with only Democrats voting against it. The first now awaits a House floor hearing. Meanwhile, New Mexico is wrapping up a shockingly dry winter, with 60% of the state currently experiencing some level of drought. At the end of February, 12 out of 27 snow monitoring stations reported no snow, breaking records across the state. Even so, 'The Legislature is doing really good work on really good work,' Feibelman said later. 'We're talking about how to pay to protect people's homes from unprecedented fires. We are facing literal climate sticker shock from increasing insurance rates. Dwindling water supply. Extreme heat.' And all of those state programs come out of the state budget buoyed by oil and gas revenues. One of those, the Innovation in State Government Fund, would spend $10 million to help seven state agencies promote net-zero emission policies and climate change mitigation projects. It passed a contentious Senate floor debate on March 6, with all Republicans voting against it. 'Good, innovative bills are moving forward,' she said, but 'we are absorbing the cost so oil and gas can keep profiting.'
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate approves bill creating new state fund for emergency disaster loans
Feb. 28—SANTA FE — After recent wildfires burned large swaths of New Mexico, lawmakers authorized hefty zero-interest loans to help local governments with rebuilding efforts. Such a natural disaster loan program would be made permanent in state law with a recurring balance of $150 million, under a bill approved Friday by the state Senate via a 37-0 vote. "For the last two or three years, we've been reactive to fires in New Mexico," Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said during Friday's debate. "This is really a proactive response to how we set ourselves up for the future," he added. The issuance of state loans for disaster relief efforts is intended to jumpstart recovery efforts of roads, bridges, culverts and other public infrastructure while the state waits — sometimes for extended periods of time — for federal emergency funds to be distributed. The loans are then paid back to the state. Lawmakers last summer approved up to $70 million in zero-interest loans to fund repair work in the Ruidoso area, following a devastating fire and subsequent flooding. A year earlier, legislators approved $100 million to expedite recovery efforts in the burn scar of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire — the largest in state history. Nearly all of the $100 million in loans authorized for repair projects connected to that northern New Mexico fire were ultimately issued, though it took the state Department of Finance and Administration more than a year to finish distributing the money. In large part, that's because qualifying projects must first receive approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency before the state can issue a loan, a process that can take longer than many local officials would prefer. Under the bill that now advances to the House of Representatives, Senate Bill 31, the new fund would be created to provide zero-interest loans following federally declared natural disasters. The fund would get money from a separate reserve account in the state treasury over the next three years, with the aim of keeping a $150 million balance available. The two state agencies that would be tasked with implementing the fund — the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Department of Finance and Administration — both indicated Friday they support the legislation. The state currently has about $2 billion worth of eligible projects from previous natural disasters, said DHSEM spokeswoman Danielle Silva. "We can't stop disasters from happening, but we can and should do as much as possible to prepare for them," Silva told the Journal.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
25% royalty rate cap on prime oil and gas land heads to the House
Feb. 22—Legislation increasing the maximum royalty rates charged for prime New Mexico oil and gas land is heading to the House after passing the Senate chamber Saturday on a 21-15 vote. A similar effort passed the House last year but couldn't make it through the Senate. This year's bill, Senate Bill 23, takes a slightly different approach by limiting a proposed 25% royalty rate cap geographically to premium land for oil and gas exploration — the Permian Basin. "When you have the best of the best, you want the best rate that you can get," said bill sponsor Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup. "It's a business model." Currently, the State Land Office can only charge up to 20% in royalty rates. The money goes to the state's Land Grant Permanent Fund, which funds public education. Muñoz said 99% of activity in the Permian Basin is driven by major oil companies. "Every major oil company — ExxonMobil, Chevron — has hit oil in this area, and hit it at a high volume," he said. However, that argument did not sway Senate Republicans, who uniformly opposed the legislation. Sen. Larry Scott, R-Hobbs, tried but failed to amend the bill to make the State Land Office subject to the same prime oil and gas development directive that lessees and private landowners must follow, which is to prevent waste and protect correlative rights. Republicans sang a similar tune against the bill as they have so far in the session and in past years, saying it would hurt the industry majorly funding New Mexico. "If you want less of something, you tax it. If you want more or something, you incentivize it," said Sen. Ant Thornton, R-Sandia Park. "And it seems to me we are doing our best to kill the industry that keeps the state running." The State Land Office last year stopped leasing out the best tracts of oil and gas land until the Legislature raises the royalty rate cap. The bill passed the floor after about an hour and a half of debate.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposal to pay lawmakers deadlocks in Senate Finance Committee
The influential Senate Finance Committee deadlocked 5-5 Tuesday on a proposed amendment to the New Mexico Constitution that would provide salaries for legislators, a plan its supporters maintain would make it easier for a more diverse group of people to run for office. Sen. George Muñoz, committee chairman, was among the "no" votes. He said he opted to seek election to the Legislature years ago because he wanted to "serve." "Now we are going to have people running for a paycheck, and that's going to be a completely different scenario," Muñoz said. Muñoz, D-Gallup, and Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, joined Republicans in voting against Senate Joint Resolution 1, meaning the proposal did not pass the committee and could be dead. As it stands, New Mexico is the only state in the country that does not pay lawmakers an annual salary. They do receive retirement benefits and a per diem for expenses. "Let me ask this: If there is a downturn in the economy and this is enacted and salaries are whatever they are, where do you think [is] the first place we're going to look to cut numbers?" Muñoz asked. Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, a sponsor of the resolution, noted his wife, Santa Fe City Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth, receives a salary to serve in that capacity. "Doing something parallel, I think, would open up this process to a whole range of different voices and different representation, which is something that would really help the legislative process," Wirth said. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque, would ask voters to approve an amendment to the state constitution creating an independent citizen commission responsible for establishing legislative salaries. If passed by the Legislature, the proposed amendment would go before voters statewide in the 2028 general election. That delay would give lawmakers three legislative sessions to craft 'enabling legislation' to iron out the specifics of the commission. Policies approved last year allow each of New Mexico's 112 lawmakers to hire a legislative aide. This session, some legislators are focused on what they see as the next step in modernizing the Legislature — a salary. Several lawmakers have stepped down over the years because of financial constraints, including Sen. Linda Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, who resigned from her House post in July of 2021. She was elected to the Senate in November. "Most of you know my lived experience is that I had to leave five minutes early from my second term of serving in the House. The reason was financial in nature," said Trujillo, a member of the Senate Finance Committee. Most Democrats on the committee spoke in support of the amendment. "It opens the door for really anybody to serve in the Legislature," said Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque. "Today, I just firmly believe that 80-85%, 90-95% of the people that we all interact with could probably never serve in these roles. So as a result, the Legislature isn't always as representative of New Mexico." The Republicans expressed concerns the specifics of the enabling legislation have not yet been worked out. Sen. Pat Woods, R-Grady, proposed an amendment that stated the "aggregate amount" of legislator salaries could not exceed four-tenths of 1% of oil and gas severance tax revenues. That would mean, roughly, a maximum salary of $82,800 per member, according to Woods. "Oil and gas is bringing in a ton of money. What happens when that's gone?" asked Sen. Steve Lanier, R-Aztec. Woods' amendment was tabled on a 6-3 vote. "I actually think that's way too high for salaries for a part-time legislature," said Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, a co-sponsor of the resolution. "Even more so, one of the key tenets of SJR 1 is that we are removing self-dealing from the equation. We are establishing this independent citizen commission."
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attorney General's higher education reform package gets stopped in committee
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A controversial multi-million dollar payout at Western New Mexico University was blasted by a chorus of top state leaders while lawmakers heeded calls for reform, and now they've tabled a bill aimed at doing that. Attorney General Raul Torrez backed a reform package after the WNMU spending scandal, but today, opponents are saying the changes go too far. 'I mean we're talking about one incident but they continue to happen and continue to happen,' said Senator George Muñoz, (D- Gallup). That feeling from one lawmaker is about what happened at Western New Mexico University. That university's president stepped down late last year after the state auditor found misspending. However, before he left, the board also approved a buyout. Lawmakers look to set aside $5M for UNM/NMSU athletics 'The board of regents for Western New Mexico took the opportunity to negotiate the severance agreement which gave Dr. Shepard $1.9 million in severance compensation, full tenured-track professorship, and a sabbatical,' said Billy J. Jimenez, Deputy Attorney General, New Mexico. Aiming to stop that in the future, the Attorney General has proposed a series of reforms, under Senate Bill 266. The bill would, in part, empower the state's Board of Finance and the A.G. to review contracts for high-level university administrators before they're approved, but that idea is raising opposition. 'We are not going to have that ability if we have to tell a candidate, 'You have thirty days, and guess what? This contract may not be upheld by the attorney general or the board of finance,' said James Chavez with Central New Mexico Community College. Democrats, Republicans weigh in on Public Safety Package bills Others think the proposal would affect university accreditation, saying higher education institutes must have independent governing boards. 'It threatens institution's ability to obtain institutional accreditation as the board will have outside influence placed on it, in the hiring of the president,' said Vanessa Hawker, Executive Director for New Mexico Independent Community Colleges. Before tabling the bill on Monday, some lawmakers claimed the changes could scare away potential candidates for New Mexico University leadership positions. 'It is not just review, it is oversight and the ability to stop those. This bill, in my opinion, has already caused huge damage and harm to higher education, particularly those universities that are looking to hire new leaders,' said Senator William Soules (D- Doña Ana). Lawmakers tabled that bill unanimously in a committee hearing today, meaning it's unlikely to go any further this session. Responding to the decision, the New Mexico Department of Justice said in a statement they are quote 'profoundly disappointed' with lawmakers choice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
