Adrian Hedden
El Rito Media
achedden@currentargus.com

Republicans in southeast New Mexico said they were successful in blocking several bills that would have upped regulations on oil and gas operators during the 2025 legislative session, but chided Democrats who control the Legislature for not addressing public safety and crime.

This year’s session ran from Jan. 21 to March 22 as lawmakers in the House and Senate proposed, debated and voted on bills that, if passed, were sent to the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to be signed into law. Lujan Grisham has until April 11 to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature. Any bill not acted on by then will be “pocket vetoed.”

A pocket veto is essentially the same as an actual veto by the governor – it kills the bill. Any lawmaker wanting to revive it would have to introduce the bill as new legislation at the start of a subsequent session.

Sen. Jim Townsend (R-34), who represents parts of Eddy and Otero counties, said “it could have been worse” for conservatives in the GOP, which is the minority party in both the House and Senate.

He said the biggest success Republicans achieved was blocking an oil and gas surcharge Democrats attempted to include in a package of tax bills. Townsend said the charge would have amounted to a $130 million annual tax on the industry he credited as a driving factor behind $3.5 million in “new money” provided to the state’s budget this year.

A heavily amended version of the tax package, House Bill 14, was sent to the governor’s desk in the final minutes of the session and included state tax breaks for those working for minimum wage and foster parents. The version passed was estimated to cost $113 million and was funded by a 20% increase in the state’s liquor excise tax.

“We had absolutely no need for any new taxes,” Townsend said.

Although lawmakers did pass Senate Bill 23, which raised the cap on royalty rates paid by oil and gas operators on State Trust land, Townsend said most of the bills attempting to restrict fossil fuel production were stopped by strong GOP opposition.

Those included two separate bills to ban new oil and gas facilities within a mile of public schools and in areas known to have high levels of ground-level ozone in the air – areas that include Eddy and Lea counties in the Permian Basin.

Other failed oil and gas bills were measures that would have codified into law reductions in statewide greenhouse gas emissions specified in an executive order signed by Lujan Grisham in 2019, and a rule enacted in 2022 by the Oil Conservation Division requiring operators to capture 98% of produced gas in 2026.

Townsend said lawmakers should consider the totality of New Mexico’s oil and gas regulations, which he said make it more expensive to do business in the state.

“If you look at the overall regulatory burden on producers, we have exceeded Texas,” he said. “We’re blessed with the Permian and the Delaware. They’ve provided a lot for New Mexicans.”

Another threat to oil and gas was a bill that passed giving the New Mexico Game and Fish Department statutory authority to oversee “wildlife” in New Mexico as opposed to its current mandate to regulate only “game,” said Sen. Larry Scott (R-42), who represents parts of Eddy, Lea and Chaves counties.

Scott worried the “wildlife” terminology that would be included in the department’s jurisdiction under state law would mean it could regulate endangered species such as the dunes sagebrush lizard, which has habitat throughout the Permian Basin oilfields.

“What came to my mind is the ability to manage the little critters that could prevent drilling operations,” Scott said.

Crime and public safety

But energy and environmental issues largely took a backseat to proposals intended to address widespread crime and public safety throughout New Mexico.

In the months leading up to the session, Lujan Grisham held multiple townhall meetings in cities and small towns throughout the state, gathering local feedback on crime issues to use in crafting legislation for the session.

The session notably ended on a violent note with a mass shooting in Las Cruces occurring on the last day lawmakers were convened in Santa Fe. Police said three teenagers were killed in a dispute during an unsanctioned car show at Young Park: Andrew Madrid, 16; Jason Gomez, 18; and Dominick Estrada, 19. Fifteen people were injured in the shooting.

Tomas Rivas, 20, was arrested and charged with three open counts of murder, along with a 15-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys who face the same charges.

Scott said the “lawlessness” in New Mexico’s big cities was not adequately addressed by bills passed during the session.

He said lawmakers should have supported legislation making it easier for courts to incarcerate repeat offenders, who Scott said often commit violent crimes, including murder, after being released following less serious offenses.

“We didn’t do anything about the revolving door,” he said. “We didn’t do anything about the mental health revolving door, letting those people back out onto the street.”

Democrats did claim victory at the outset of the session via House Bill 2, the General Appropriations Act, which allocated $10 million to local enforcement agencies and $4 million to help recruit and retain police officers.

House Bill 6 was also passed and included a package of six bills to help the state’s criminal justice system address mental health, while increasing penalties for fentanyl trafficking, mass shooting threats and habitual car theft while banning devices to convert handguns into automatic weapons.

“Improving public safety is both urgent and ongoing work,” House Speaker Rep. Javier Martinez (D-11) of Bernalillo County said in a statement as the session ended. “It does not start or end with the legislative session, and it requires all of us to keep coming to the table with a focus on developing solutions, not pointing fingers.”

Townsend said the Legislature could have done more, and by not doing so sent a message to criminals that they won’t be punished for most crimes.

“They’re not afraid. Right now, they know breaking and entering is not that big of a deal. It’s probably just a slap on the wrist. Same thing with drugs. They don’t care,” Townsend said.