Latest news with #PeterWirth
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Climate Change Awareness & Action seeking to reverse environmental damage in CNY
(WSYR-TV) — With Earth Day happening just a couple days ago, we've been talking a lot about how to go green. One organization does this all year round with the mission to reverse the human-caused climate disruption that threatens the earth. They're called Climate Change Awareness and Action. Peter Wirth is the vice president of the organization's board, and he joined Tim and Erik this morning to talk about his passion for sustainability. Peter tells us the organization started as an informal group of volunteers about ten years ago. In the last three years, they have grown to become a group with monthly meetings and a board of directors. Peter says he had solar panels installed on his roof 13 year ago, and that it was one of his best investments. He says they paid for themselves in ten years and are warranted to be 95% effective 25 years from now. Because of that, he'll get fifteen years of free electricity. Peter grew up in NYC but moved to Syracuse for college. He saw a great change over the years in the winters here. The fact that the climate has been changing over the period of just a few decades indicates to him that there is a problem going on. The organization, Climate Change Awareness and Action, will be tabling at the 'The Effects of Gravity' show this weekend at the Center for the Arts of Homer, as well as other Earth Day events in Onondaga County. For more information and to become a member, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Amid federal uncertainty, bill creating new state Medicaid trust fund passes Senate
Mar. 5—SANTA FE — With New Mexico staring at the possibility of a dip in federal funds, state lawmakers are advancing a bill creating a new trust fund to help pay for Medicaid programs in future years. The Senate voted 37-0 on Wednesday to approve the bill, Senate Bill 88, which now advances to the House of Representatives with just over two weeks left in the 60-day legislative session. In all, slightly more than 840,000 New Mexico residents were enrolled in Medicaid as of December — about 40% of the state's population. Given those figures, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, described Medicaid as a "game-changer" for New Mexico. "I think this is a very smart, proactive move to prepare" for possible federal funding reductions, Wirth said during Wednesday's debate. He also credited former Gov. Susana Martinez for opting in to Medicaid expansion in 2013, a decision that paved the way for more New Mexicans to receive coverage under the joint federal-state health care program. A new state Medicaid trust fund would be the latest in a string of similar funds created by New Mexico lawmakers over the last several years amid an oil-fueled state revenue windfall. Other funds are focused on early childhood and conservation programs. Money for the new fund would come from investment earnings from the State Treasurer's Office — which are estimated to total about $280 million in the coming budget year. Eventually, the fund would be expected to grow to about $2 billion, allowing annual 5% distributions — of about $100 million — to help pay for Medicaid programs, said Senate GOP floor leader William Sharer of Farmington. "I think this is a very prudent use of our resources," Sharer said. But he disagreed with Democrats' warnings about Republican-led budget cuts in Washington, D.C., saying, "I think they're looking for fraud, waste and abuse, not to harm us." A concurrent budget resolution recently approved by the U.S. House calls for $880 million in savings from federal health programs. While it's not clear if those savings might mean a reduction in Medicaid spending levels or the elimination of certain waiver programs, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham warned last week that federal budget cuts could prompt her to call legislators back to Santa Fe later this year for a special session. New Mexico currently receives the highest federal matching rate in the nation for Medicaid spending. Federal cuts of 12%-13% would require New Mexico lawmakers to come up with more than $1.1 billion in state dollars to avoid a disruption in health care coverage, according to legislative data presented to lawmakers this week. The bill approved Wednesday includes contingency language that would allow money in the trust fund to be used to maintain Medicaid services in the case of federal funding cuts. That authority would be in place for a three-year period, starting in July. "If there are cuts to Medicaid, we need to have the resources to take care of that," said Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, during Wednesday's debate. New Mexico's Medicaid spending has surged in recent years, jumping from about $3.7 billion in the 2011 budget year to roughly $10.4 billion this year, according to legislative data. Most of that money is federal dollars, though state Medicaid spending currently represents the second-largest portion of the state budget — behind only public schools. Meanwhile, the idea of a new Medicaid trust fund was pushed by advocates even before the specter of federal funding cuts emerged. Think New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based think tank, has urged lawmakers since last fall to enact such a fund, saying it could help the state increase reimbursement rates for health care providers who treat patients insured under Medicaid.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico Senate committee advances combined bill designed to protect state surface water
The Santa Fe River which runs through downtown Santa Fe intermittently captured on Feb. 12, 2025. State environment officials estimate that 95% of New Mexico rivers no longer qualify for federal pollution protections after a 2023 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, including the Santa Fe River. The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced legislation that combines two bills that aims to increase water quality protections for much of New Mexico and regulate pollution discharged into state surface waters. Both Senate Bill 21 and Senate Bill 22 will now be merged into an amended SB 21. The updated version of the proposal was not yet available Thursday on the Legislature's website. The legislation, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) and Rep. Kristina Ortez (D-Taos), is a response to a U.S. Supreme Court 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision, which dramatically decreased federal Clean Water Act protections for intermittent waters, which accounts for nearly 95% of New Mexico's streams and rivers. It would also add a state program to do the permitting in the New Mexico Environment Department. Tannis Fox, a senior attorney with Western Environmental Law Center, said this bill reinstates protections from discharges from wastewater plants, mining, construction and other pollution sources that existed over fifty years, before being narrowed by court decisions. 'These are waters that formerly had protections from discharges and the sky didn't fall,' Fox said. 'Businesses were able to get permits, and conduct their business before.' Supporters of the legislation, including Pueblo of Laguna Gov. Harry Antonio Jr., referenced the Sackett v. EPA decision. 'Passing SB 21 and SB 22 is a top legislative priority for Laguna,' Antonio said at the committee hearing Wednesday evening. 'Achieving this goal is essential to begin to reestablish surface water protections that have ensured clean water for generations.' Lobbyists in opposition expressed concerns about the bill's impact on the farm, dairy and construction industries, and said the new permit requirements may duplicate existing permit requirements. The combined bill now heads to its third committee: Senate Finance. If it advances through its final committee, the bill still requires a vote of the full Senate, and passage through House committees and a vote of the full House. Even if the bill passes, sponsors and advocates said the state's takeover of a surface water permitting program would take a few years to stand up. The vote to advance the bill occurred along party lines. Sen. Crystal Brantley (R-Elephant Butte) objected to the bill, calling it a 'great overreach' in establishing protections for intermittent waters — or arroyos and rivers that run dry — and questioned if the state's environment department would have the personnel to take on a permitting program. Senators approved the bill with amendments to allow penalties from water pollution violations to add to funding the quality permitting program. Sponsors added specific language laying out that state regulators have the authority to clean up groundwater, and cut a $50 million dollar appropriation for groundwater pollution cleanup, noting that the money was adopted in the House's version of the budget. The combined version of the bill also addressed concerns raised in a previous hearing that it did not match all the exemptions — such as for farming — to Clean Water Act permit requirements, according to Jonas Armstrong, the Water Protection Division director at the NMED. 'This has been a long-term plan for New Mexicans to take control of protecting New Mexico's waters,' Armstrong said. 'Sackett accelerated and emphasized that need.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Behavioral health package headed to New Mexico Senate
Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington), Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) and Adrian Avila, chief of staff of Senate Finance, listen to questions from members of the Senate Finance Committee on the three-bill behavioral health package on Feb. 12, 2025. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning voted to pass a trio of bills meant to rebuild New Mexico's behavioral health system after former Gov. Susana Martinez dismantled it more than a decade ago. All three bills already passed through the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee on Feb. 5. The Democratic majority in the Senate expects them to go to a vote on the Senate floor by the end of the week, said spokesperson Chris Nordstrum. The Finance Committee voted 10-1 in favor of an amended version of Senate Bill 3, which would require the Administrative Office of the Courts, with help from the state Health Care Authority, to host regional meetings with experts to set priorities in their local areas to determine which services to deploy. 'Administrations change, and that's why we're here today,' SB3 co-sponsor Minority Floor Leader William Sharer (R-Farmington) said. 'Things happened because only the executive had any authority. We change. But AOC changes slower, and so we have some continuity in what's going on, so we're not going down a particular path and all of a sudden, taking a hard right or a hard left because we have a new governor.' Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), also a co-sponsor of SB3, called it the 'guardrails and accountability' bill and 'the key to the whole package.' 'It is absolutely critical that as we talk about public safety and passing public safety bills that deal with those that have competency issues — the unhoused, those that are pulled into the criminal system — that as those bills pass, we have the behavioral health support network in place to be able to get those folks into treatment,' Wirth said. 'We can pass all the bills in the world but, if we don't have the system in place, it's not going to work.' Wirth said the new version includes a 'behavioral health executive committee' that would oversee the regional planning, which committee members had asked for on Tuesday. Behavioral health package shifts responsibility to the courts The committee voted 11-0 in favor of Senate Bill 2, which would make a one-time $200 million appropriation for building out the infrastructure needed to use the state Medicaid program to pay for the behavioral health services to patients. Sen. Benny Shendo (D-Jemez Pueblo) called the legislation a 'down payment' on building out the behavioral health treatment infrastructure. The committee voted 11-0 in favor of Senate Bill 1, which would create a $1 billion Behavioral Health Trust Fund that would pay out 5%, or $50 million, each year, in the form of grants to providers in each region. Sen. Elizabeth 'Liz' Stefanics (D-Cerrillos) said the trust fund is a 'long-term investment in public health.' 'By setting aside a substantial amount of funding, the state ensures a sustainable funding foundation for essential behavioral health services for years to come,' she said. 'The fund also is very instrumental in the implementation of regional behavioral health plans across the state.' The fund would allow the state to match federal, local and private funding sources for behavioral health programs, including Medicaid, Stefanics said. Supporters of the package in committee on Wednesday included the League of Women Voters New Mexico, the American Association of University Women, the Democratic Party of New Mexico's Veterans and Military Families Caucus, the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Mexico and the Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce. There were no opponents in the audience or online. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Game Commission overhaul advances out of committee
A bill overhauling the state Game Commission made it out of committee Saturday. Senate Bill 5, a bipartisan proposal whose sponsors include Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, got a 5-3, party-line vote in the Senate Conservation Committee. The measure would rename the commission the State Wildlife Committee, which supporters say would reflect a mission expanding its conservation efforts from game to all wildlife. The bill would also limit the governor's appointment power, switching from a commission entirely handpicked by the governor to requiring the governor to pick from a list of names compiled by an eight-member bipartisan nominating committee. Legislative leaders from both parties could name four members total to the nominating committee, with two being appointed by biology and wildlife professors at the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University and two by the governor to represent an Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo. The bill also spells out who could be nominated to the commission, including a rancher or farmer, a conservationist, a hunter or angler and a wildlife scientist with a relevant graduate degree. One commissioner would also have to come from a Native American nation, tribe or pueblo, thanks to an amendment from Sen. Angel Charley, D-Acoma, approved during the meeting. Public weighs in Garrett VeneKlasen, Northern conservation Director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, said the commission has had a 'chronic problem with undue influence from special interests.' He said the inclusion of scientists would be a 'great opportunity for increased transparency and expertise. ' As a hunter and fisherman, I'm really excited about this, and I'm hopeful that this isn't a takeover by tree huggers," he said. As well as remaking the Game Commission, the bill would hike hunting and fishing license fees by 20% to 50% and trapping license fees by 200% to 250%, pegging additional future increases to inflation. This is down from decreases of 400-500% in the original proposal. While some supporters said they would be happy to pay for increased conservation efforts, not everyone who spoke Saturday felt that way. Chance Thedford, president of the New Mexico Trappers Association, said the steep increase in trapping license fees 'seemed prejudicial towards trappers and predator hunters." Brandon Wynn, a longtime hunter, said he liked the bill's separation of politics from the commission but opposed it overall because it doesn't help the 'blue-collar hunter' 'For 50 years,' Wynn said, 'New Mexico's system of allocating the opportunity to hunt has been greatly skewed toward wealthy non-resident hunters through privatization. And I don't see anything in this bill that's going to help [with] that.' Ranchers, farmers feel unheard No group though, seemed more opposed than a group of ranchers and farmers who sat on one side of the room, quietly cursing out the lawmakers in support of the bill. David Sanchez, a rancher from Northern New Mexico, arose from the group to fiercely oppose an amendment, saying his and other ranchers' due process rights were 'violated' by the sponsors of the bill. 'We are a directly affected party, which you haven't heard here today because we're the landowners that feed the wildlife — and we haven't been invited to the table," Sanchez said. Sanchez's statement drew ire from several lawmakers. Co-sponsor Rep. Matt McQueen, D-Galisteo, emphasized the bill guarantees at least one rancher or farmer on the commission but does not stop other members with ranching or farming backgrounds from filling the other seats. 'What I heard from, the Northern New Mexico ranchers is really troubling,' said Sen. James Townsend, R-Artesia, 'and I don't know how people that own that much property — a lot of it prime hunting area — have been excluded or ignored from the process.' 'We certainly had many agriculture interests at the table,' said McQueen. 'I simply don't know who all was involved, and who was invited.' 'Well, I'm looking at you and them, and they're all shaking their head,' Townsend said. 'They're not in agreement with that. And I think that's a problem.'
