Latest news with #HB137
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lujan Grisham signs bills for water quality, PFAS restrictions into law
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed four bills into law Tuesday, April 8, relating to water and PFAS. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday signed into law four bills she said better prepares New Mexico to address: water shortages from climate change; contamination from so-called 'forever chemicals;' and pollution in the state's waters. At a press conference at the Roundhouse joined by sponsors, advocates and several cabinet secretaries, the governor signed: House Bill 137, which will explore treatment of salty water from deep aquifers for future use. House Bill 212, which tasks state environment officials to create rules phasing out consumer products containing a class of toxic so-called 'forever chemicals,' called per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. House Bill 140 to expand New Mexico Environment Department's authority to require the cleanup of firefighting foams containing PFAS in response to litigation from the U.S. military over cleanup at military bases in New Mexico. Senate Bill 21, a bill to expand New Mexico's powers to address stream pollution and take over pollution permitting in surface waters from the federal government. 'When you talk about water to anyone, it's typically not a dialogue, it's a debate, because water is life,' Lujan Grisham said during the bill signing, adding that the Legislature and her office 'did about three decades worth of work' on the issue over the session. New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney called the four bills 'a big, bold package,' for the environment. 'This is a real turning point, I think, for taking back control of our water, of what consumer products are coming into our homes, of teaching people how to treat New Mexico and its environment,' Kenney said. Lujan Grisham also celebrated the passage of HB137, the much pared down Strategic Water Supply, crediting state Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo) for sponsoring the bill. HB137 addresses aquifer mapping and treatment of brackish water in deep aquifers, and funding for mapping the state's groundwater supplies. Previous and more controversial versions of the bill included efforts to treat oil and gas wastewater, which environmental, Indigenous and conservation nonprofits opposed due to potential health and logistical risks. A previous version of the bill also installed fees for oil and gas producers per barrel of oil and gas wastewater to help pay for the program, but those also were stripped from the bill. 'This is a monumental stake in identifying water and keeping our fresh water fresh and clean and making sure that we can do both economic development and create assurances for any number of industries, including ag in the future,' Lujan Grisham said of the bill, and noted she plans to push for developing treatment for oil and gas wastewater in next year's 30-day session. 'I think we should clean up every bit of contaminated water, wherever it exists, from uranium mill tailings to produced water, all of it,' Lujan Grisham said, adding that the costs should be paid for by the oil and gas industry. The governor also applauded the Legislature's work in passing SB21, a bill to enshrine the state's right to regulate pollution in surface waters like streams and rivers and continue the yearslong process to develop a state program for permits. New Mexico was one of only three states that allowed the federal government to handle all pollution permitting in surface waters. SB21 allows the state to reinstate protections for more than 90% of New Mexico's waters which were stripped by the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA. Paula Garcia, the executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, told Source NM the laws will reinstall meaningful protections for the tributary waters on which irrigators rely, but that the organization will ensure there's follow-through in the yearslong process for the state to take over permitting. 'We have to stay vigilant to ensure the state's environment department has the resources that the need to stand up this program,' Garcia said. It was a much warmer mood on the fourth floor, compared to the somber end of the legislative session, which occurred in the aftermath of the Las Cruces mass shooting on March 21 and prompted criticism from the governor on legislative inaction regarding juvenile crime reform. Lujan Grisham said on Tuesday a special session on juvenile crime is still under discussion, but a specific date has not been set. She said perhaps later this year after interim committee meetings begin. 'I'm still feeling like that's really necessary,' she said. In the upcoming 30-day session, the governor said she'd fight for a law codifying greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2050, which she issued as an executive order in 2019. This year's version, Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), failed to advance beyond Senate Finance this year. She emphasized that her administration is running out of time. 'It's the last chance, and people should expect me to have a little bit better than a scalpel approach, a little bit less than a sledgehammer about where we're going in climate change,' Lujan Grisham said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM Legislative Recap March 17: What's shaking out, or not, at the Roundhouse
With a week left in the session, here's where things stand. Scroll down lower in our recap to find a more detailed version of this chart. (Chart made with Fluorish) With five days remaining in New Mexico's 2025 legislative session, some bills that we thought would be important at the starting line have become law, while others have made little to no progress. For example, several high-profile bills like paid family leave and a tax on alcohol are most likely not going to move forward before the final gavel at noon Saturday. After an acrimonious special session in 2024, legislators and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vowed to prioritize behavioral health and crime bills, passing a package of bills within the first half of the session for her approval. Lawmakers had sent 11 Senate bills and nine pieces of House legislation to the governor's office for her approval, as of Monday. Source NM previewed some of the big bills in public safety, water and climate and housing — here's what's moving, or not, since the session started. The day before the session, the state's attorney general and a senator announced a push to combat two forms of harm that affect young people: hazing and cyberbullying. To become laws, both the hazing bill and the cyberbullying one still need to pass two committees in the Senate and go through the entire process in the House of Representatives. Another lawmaker last week indicated that transparency legislation at a similar point in the process was 'out of time.' Legislative leaders made public safety and behavioral health the priorities for the session's first 30 days. They sent Lujan Grisham three bills that together aim to get more people into mental health treatment rather than dismissing their cases because they're unable to stand trial, while stiffening penalties for crimes related to guns and fentanyl trafficking, and she signed them on Feb. 27. A senator and a representative are carrying a proposal to make comprehensive sexual education available to every student in New Mexico, as a way of preventing teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease, sexual violence, bullying and sexual harassment. Two Senate committees have passed the bill, and it awaits a vote on the Senate floor. To become law, it would still need to go through the committee process and a floor vote in the House of Representatives. One of Lujan Grisham's signature proposals from last session is moving forward, although it's been radically reshaped this session. House Bill 137, the Strategic Water Supply, is limited to developing projects and grants for treating brackish, or salty waters in deep aquifers, stripping proposals dealing with oil and gas wastewater entirely. HB137 has an outstanding Senate Finance hearing and a Senate vote to clear. A bill to empower New Mexico to regulate pollution in surface waters such as streams and rivers, and continue the yearslong process to develop a state program for permits, is on the cusp of passage. Senate Bill 21 cleared all assigned committees and a Senate vote, and now awaits a hearing before the full House. Several bills to reform the oil and gas industry and enshrine greenhouse gas reduction goals into state law failed to clear committees this session. Rep. Kristina Ortez (D-Taos) told Source NM in a text message that two bills to beef up climate and public health tracking are not going to make it across the finish line this session, but that she will bring back the bills 'in full force, next year.' Those are House Bill 108, which proposed a $1.1 million program to track health impacts from extreme heat wildfire and more at the New Mexico Department of Health; and House Bill 109, which proposed a $12 million Climate Resilience Fund to offer up to $1 million grants to local and tribal governments for climate preparation and response. Two housing-related bills are making it farther this session than they have in previous years. One of them, which bans so-called 'source of income' discrimination, was introduced in at least two prior sessions but never made it out of committee. House Bill 339, which Reps. Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces) and Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), sponsored, has passed the House and one Senate committee. It would prohibit landlords from turning away prospective tenants who carry housing subsidies like Section 8 vouchers. A similar bill, sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Rio Rancho), would require landlords to calculate prospective tenants' rent-to-income ratios only after subsidies like child support or Section 8 are accounted for. That bill has not yet gotten a hearing, so it's likely dead. A new state Office of Housing is also on its way toward clearing both chambers. Lawmakers last session voted against the bill, which would create an executive housing office tasked with collecting data and establishing a statewide strategy to deal with housing shortages. This year, it's cleared the House and is slated for a hearing soon on the Senate Floor. Advocates also hope Senate and House leadership will move forward on bills that would expunge eviction records after a certain number of years, prohibit the use of artificial intelligence algorithms to recommend maximum rent prices and crack down on excess rental application fees. The House's state budget proposal includes $110 million for housing development, including transitional housing, primarily in Bernalillo and Doña Ana counties, where lawmakers say the need is greatest. It would include almost $46 million to housing providers to focus on addressing homelessness. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The Senate passed Senate Bill 305, which would create a task force to improve recruitment and retention of foster parents; and Senate Bill 481, which would create a new State Fairgrounds District, which could issue up to $1 billion in bonds to redevelop or relocate the State Fair. The Senate rolled the remainder of its calendar to an evening session scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday. The House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 175, which would allow the Child Care Revolving Loan Fund to be used by more providers and to expand existing buildings; House Bill 244, which would lower the minimum age of magistrate judges from 30 to 28 years old; House Bill 348, which would raise civil penalties for water violations for the first time since 1907; House Bill 456, which would allow state agencies to use a price agreement for architectural or engineering services up to $2 million, not exceeding $15 million over four years; and House Bill 586, a zombie bill resurrecting Senate Bill 14, which would allow the Health Care Authority to review proposed mergers or acquisitions of health care facilities for potential negative health care impacts. At press time on Monday, the House was debating House Bill 426, which would require mobile home park owners to notify each resident and the Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) of any offer for purchase the owner intends to accept. A similar proposal in 2023 didn't make it so far. On Monday morning, the House Health and Human Services Committee passed Senate Bill 219, the Medical Psilocybin Act, and it will now head to the House floor for a vote. That is the last action needed for the bill to be sent to the governor's desk to be signed into law. Rep. Elaine Sena Cortez (R-Hobbs) cast the only vote in opposition. The bill would allow providers to prescribe medicinal psilocybin to treat patients for post-traumatic stress disorder, major treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorders, end-of-life care and other conditions approved by the Department of Health. 'I'm supportive, you don't have to convince me of how beneficial this could be for a lot of people,' Rep. Jenifer Jones (R-Deming) told the bill sponsors during the meeting. House Health also voted to table Senate Bill 166, which would have redefined 'harm to self' and 'harm to others' in state law to allow for more people to be civilly committed into a locked facility. The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee passed House Memorial 57, which would call for a study of recruitment and retention of police instructors; Senate Bill 42, which would require healthcare providers to screen for substance-exposed newborns at birthing facilities and have plans for safe care before these babies are discharged; and Senate Bill 52, which would align mileage reimbursements for lawmakers and their staff with the U.S. General Service Administration rate. The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee passed Senate Bill 426, which would repeal an obsolete law related to the New Mexico School for the Blind and visually Impaired; Senate Bill 433, which would allow dentists and dental hygienists licensed in other states to practice in New Mexico, and vice versa; House Bill 77, which would require the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to develop an annual outreach plan; House Bill 117, which would allow physicians' assistants or nurse practitioners to sign a death certificate when a doctor isn't around; House Bill 129, which would shorten the state worker probationary period from one year to six months; House Bill 448, which would create the Office of Housing Planning and Production; and House Bill 453, which would create a creditworthiness assistance program that would provide property managers with assistance for unpaid rent or rental property damages. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 146, which would fix language in the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; House Bill 101, which would allow 'commissioned' police officers to carry firearms in polling places; House Bill 178, which makes several changes to the Nursing Practice Changes Act to clarify the scope of practice for various categories of licensed nurses and expand the Board of Nursing board's powers, among other changes; House Bill 182, which would increase retirement benefits for district, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, appellate and state Supreme Court judges, and reduce the number of years a judge must serve before qualifying for a benefit; House Bill 183, which would do the same for magistrate judges; and House Bill 281, which would exempt hair braiding from licensure requirements under the Barbers and Cosmetologists Act (read more about that from our friends at KUNM). The Senate Education Committee passed House Bill 195, which would create a salary tier system for school nurses; and House Bill 433, which would direct three state agencies and the Legislative Education Study Committee to study the availability of career and technical education courses and instructors. The Senate Rules Committee passed House Bill 298, which would clarify procedures for mayoral vacancies, appointments and the roles of local governing bodies. The Senate Finance Committee passed Senate Bill 495, which would make university radio stations eligible for an equipment replacement fund that currently only applies to university television stations; House Bill 240, which would allow the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) to make grants and loans from the drinking water state revolving loan fund for local water projects; and House Bill 449, which would create a statutory framework for funding big university projects, including student housing. 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Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Strategic Water Supply slides over to Senate
Reverse osmosis membranes at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant as seen Sept. 26, 2022 in El Paso. The plant can treat up to 27 million gallons per day of brackish water for much of Eastern El Paso and Fort Bliss residents. (Danielle Prokop / Source New Mexico) A formerly controversial bill aimed at addressing a future in which New Mexico's limited water supplies become even more strained will soon have its first Senate committee hearing following House passage last week. That passage came with no debate, following a significant overhaul in the face of considerable environmental opposition to the so-called Strategic Water Supply. In a nutshell, the bill proposes a a $40 million program for removing the salt from less drinkable aquifers and $19 million to map how much water is available beneath the ground. Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo), who sponsored House Bill 137, said on the House Floor Friday that the bill is crucial for New Mexico as climate change shrinks the rivers and puts pressure on freshwater aquifers. New Mexico, she said, needs to develop additional sources of water to preserve fresh supplies for drinking and agriculture. 'There is no snow on the mountains,' Herrera said. 'I continue to remind members of the House this is one of the greatest dangers confronting our state.' In a 57-4 vote, the House passed HB137, which now moves to the Senate Conservation and Finance committees before heading to the Senate floor. Senate Conservation scheduled the first hearing for Saturday. Lawmakers have overhauled the legislation since it was first introduced in the session's opening days. The Strategic Water Supply previously described a program to develop projects to treat not only brackish water, the salty water in deep aquifers belowground, but also oil and gas wastewater, often called produced water. A similar $500 million measure introduced in the 2024 session failed. A coalition of indigenous, water and environmental nonprofit groups opposed to the project said the bill failed to address logistics of treating oil and gas wastewater and ignored the potential health and environmental risks. Advocates shrunk down this session's proposal, initially seeking $75 million for developing treatment projects and technologies for oil and gas wastewater and a five-cent-tax per-barrel to generate revenue for the program. Legislators stripped all references to oil and gas wastewater in committees, along with a proposed per barrel fee for oil and gas companies to pay to generate program revenue. The bill now limits development to brackish water, including $40 million for a fund for grants to local communities or contracts to develop brackish water treatment facilities. The fast vote reflects the efforts to change the bill, according to Rebecca Roose, the infrastructure advisor for Gov. Michlle Lujan Grisham's office, who has championed the project. 'We are running a bill that people really want to get behind, and we feel really encouraged by that,' Roose told Source NM. Lingering objections to the bill remain. Mariel Nanasi, the executive director of Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy, said the bill should require plants to use 100% renewable energy, given desalination plants' high-energy use. 'Desalination plants funded by the state should not exacerbate climate change, they should help us address water scarcity without exacerbating that scarcity with polluting energy sources,' Nanasi said in a written statement. Nanasi said additional concerns with the current bill include the prospect for disposing of the concentrated brine from removing salt from the water. HB137 pulls resources away from other initiatives to address water issues, said Norm Gaume, a former water engineer and member of Water Advocates. 'My major objection is the House Budget shortchanged the Office of the State Engineer and Interstate Stream Commission,' Gaume said in a statement. 'For example, HB2 includes $40 million for these brackish water initiatives and nothing to prevent the pending compact violation due to Middle Rio Grande water overuse.' The bill also includes $4 million appropriation for New Mexico State University to develop additional treatment technology, and boosts the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources' budget by $19 million to study and monitor aquifers, which have never been fully characterized by the state, meaning New Mexico's exact water supplies are unknown. 'In the past, [the Bureau's] recurring funding was $600,000 per year,' Herrera said on the floor Friday. 'This sets a new stage for understanding water resources in our state, which I think is imperative to our future.' All three appropriations made it into the state's budget in House Bill 2. On the floor, Rep. Jack Chatfield (R-Mosquero) introduced an amendment, which the House unanimously approved, to increase public input options during the process. Roose said with 12 days left in the session, this bill stands front and center for the administration. 'We hope that based on the amount of changes that we made to the bill in the House that we will not see a lot more changes or maybe not any changes in the Senate, but it's one step at a time,' Roose said. 'We're just needing to let the process play out and we're definitely keeping a sense of urgency to make sure that we use the time left effectively.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scrapping produced water reuse to get Strategic Water Supply Act across finish line
Feb. 22—A major change to a bill that would commercialize the treatment and reuse of saltwater resources seems to have swayed more legislators into supporting the effort. The legislation passed its second of three House committees unanimously Saturday. House Bill 137, known as the Strategic Water Supply Act, would allow the state to dole out money and enter into contracts with entities that treat and reuse brackish water — saline water found in places like underground aquifers. Previously, the legislation would've allowed reuse projects for produced water, a toxic byproduct of oil and gas operations. But after the bill narrowly passed its first committee, with a Democrat voting against it because of its produced water components, bill sponsors decided to compromise on the legislation: They took out all of its produced water components. Bill sponsor Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, told the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee that New Mexico needs every drop of water it can get as it expects a decreasing water supply in future decades. In a statement Friday, she said the Strategic Water Supply Act is too important to let its produced water provisions cause its failure. The change swayed some legislators, such as Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, who said he initially opposed the bill but was sold on it with its changes. However, Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, who's been wary of the effort, said he appreciates the work done on the bill, but it doesn't fix climate change. Brackish water isn't located "everywhere we need water to be," he said, and treatment will be expensive. Brackish water projects are estimated to cost between $3 million and $107 million, according to a November feasibility study from the New Mexico Environment Department and an environmental research organization. The costs are significantly less than those of produced water projects, which would range between $13 million and $667 million. The state wouldn't be fronting all those costs. It would have the ability to enter into contracts or award grants for treated brackish water projects, pulling from a $75 million strategic water supply program fund HB137 would create. "What the state receives in return is saving freshwater resources while providing a new or alternative water resource to projects that align with state goals," said Rebecca Roose, state infrastructure adviser, in response to McQueen. New Mexico's brackish water resources are largely undeveloped due to the high costs as well as a need to construct wells to access the water, according to the feasibility study. Three basins are particularly fruitful for alternative water supply options: the Española Basin in Santa Fe, the Mesilla Basin in southern New Mexico and the Albuquerque Basin. McQueen also said he's consistently heard the state isn't buying and selling water, but still has concerns with how the state would be supporting private entities rather than public entities. Projects could include reusing water for green hydrogen production, data centers and solar panel manufacturing, according to NMED. He questioned how the public can get involved in the project process, to which Roose said projects require tribal consultation and a community benefit plan. "I think the opportunities for public input are vague. ... There's not a clear public role in this process," McQueen said, still ultimately voting in support of the bill. The legislation also seeks $28.7 million to continue aquifer mapping. The feasibility study noted the state needs a better characterization of brackish water resources to "understand the treatment processes needed," so more data collection is necessary. A lack of sufficient information was the cause for many environmental advocacy organizations still opposing the bill. "While there is progress in the removal of produced water, the intent of this is purely based in economic development and a pathway to commodify brackish water without proper scientific understanding and appropriate legal framework," said Julia Bernal, executive director of Pueblo Action Alliance. Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, said this isn't new technology, using processes like reverse osmosis to treat water. About two-thirds of states in the U.S. have at least one desalination plant, according to the NMED feasibility study, with neighboring state Texas having 52 plants — the third-most in the nation. "If drought conditions persist, this is a good answer for folks who rely on acequias, who rely on ditches all across the state of New Mexico, and especially as I have no idea going forward how much we're going to be fighting with the state of Texas over water," Montoya said. Pursuing produced water reuse later Herrera said she hopes to revisit produced water legislation next year instead, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham "remains committed to advancing research for produced water treatment," according to a Friday news release. HB137 also asks for $4 million so New Mexico State University, which has a produced water research consortium, can continue its research and technology development for water reuse projects, both on brackish and produced water. Since the bill is only focused on brackish water now, Roose said the intent is for the state-funded research to primarily focus on brackish water. McQueen said he's concerned that the bill doesn't have language specifying that. "We're essentially funding the existing (produced water) research, but we're sort of-kind of saying, 'Well, now you should focus on brackish water,'" he said. "My concern would be the ... (rationalization) to include produce water because potentially, going in the future, that could be included under this program."
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Water treatment and reuse bill passes its first committee, despite concerns
Feb. 12—A water treatment and reuse proposal is moving forward with some changes after more than five hours of discussion in the Roundhouse. The legislation passed its first committee by a vote of 5-4 on Tuesday, likely a preview of the tough battle it has ahead to get through the rest of the Legislature. Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, joined Republicans in voting against the bill, and other Democrats on the committee said they're still uncertain about the measure as it stands. With two more committee assignments before getting to the floor, it's a long journey for House Bill 137. The legislation would allow the state to enter into contracts and award grants for projects using treated brackish or produced water, a way to incentivize businesses to participate in the market. It would also impose a 3 cent tax on each barrel of produced water from oil and gas wells, unless the water is reused for drilling or at a state-permitted reuse facility. Four to seven times more produced water comes out of the ground than oil when drilling, according to the New Mexico Environment Department. The bill, which moved forward through the committee as a substitute of the initial legislation, lowered the fee on produced water barrels, which was formerly 5 cents per barrel. HB137 also comes with a $75 million appropriation ask. It's significantly less than proponents sought last year, when the proposal failed twice. It's rare to see oil and gas industry representatives and environmental advocates fighting on the same side, but the strategic water supply proposal has created a united front of sorts for the lobbyists. Some have different reasons for opposing the bill, including disagreement over the tax on oil and gas operators or concern over the safety of treated and reused water. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, after the bill passed the committee, said in a statement this is a way to support clean energy and advanced manufacturing "without putting our freshwater supplies at risk." "I look forward to continued work with the Legislature to advance the bill and secure the needed funding for the program," she said. The bill goes to the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee next, then House Appropriations and Finance. Meanwhile, a bill that would restrict using produced water outside of oil fields, Senate Bill 178, goes before Senate Conservation on Wednesday.
