New Mexico
GOP warns of higher gas prices as Lujan Grisham signs ‘clean fuel standard’ bill to law
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham singed a bill Tuesday intended to curb air pollution, but Republicans and fossil fuel industry supporters said the measure could raise gas prices for New Mexico drivers up to 50 cents per gallon.
House Bill 41, Clean Transportation Fuel Standards, would incentivize producers of high-carbon fuel like oil and gas to buy credits from generators or importers of low-carbon fuels to offset the overall pollution intensity of fossil fuel production.
It was intended to cause fossil fuel producers to invest in “cleaner” forms of energy and would call on the Environmental Improvement Board to devise regulations for lowering air pollution from cars and trucks. The legislation targeted reductions in such carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2030 and 30 percent by 2040 from 2018 levels.
More: Tax package could expand renewable energy in New Mexico; Fossil fuels also supported
The bill was supported by Lujan Grisham and her cabinet, including the New Mexico Environment Department which would carry out its requirements, throughout the 2024 Legislative Session despite strong disapproval from the Republican Party.
New Mexico GOP Chair Steve Pearce upon the bill’s signing said it followed similar efforts in other left-leaning states like California and would unfairly burden New Mexico consumers at the pump. He argued the governor and her followers intended to curb the use of fossil fuels in favor for electric vehicles.
“Once again, Gov. Lujan Grisham is leading from behind California,” Pearce said. “How out-of-touch is this governor and the Democratic legislature to expect New Mexicans to pay $4 a gallon for gas when so many can barely afford to feed their families? Is the governor’s strategy to make gas so expensive that New Mexicans start accepting her electric vehicle mandate?”
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Lujan Grisham said the bill would address pollution and help New Mexico meet its goals of addressing climate change, while stimulating the economy and creating new jobs in the “clean energy” by increasing investments in that sector.
“Clean fuel standards not only decrease emissions and move us toward our climate goals, but also diversify our economy and attract new businesses to our state,” she said in a statement after signing the bill into law.
The NMED estimated the program would create 1,600 full-time jobs and 2,300 construction jobs, generating $470 million in wages and bringing $240 million in capital investment to the state from companies supporting by the credits.
More: ‘Renewable’ geothermal energy boosted by bill passed by New Mexico House
Transportation was the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, according to NMED, following only oil and gas production.
The administration touted its efforts to reduce such emissions, adopting various regulations throughout Lujan Grisham’s tenure that were aimed at curbing transportation emissions and propping up the state’s electric vehicle network
“This program establishes a market-based approach to reward those entities that decide to produce and import clean fuels here in New Mexico,” said NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney. “In order to receive a clean fuel credit, you must reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
More: ‘Clean fuels’ bill advances in New Mexico Senate, to make oil companies pay for pollution
Larry Behrens with oil and gas advocacy group Power the Future said the bill would stymie the fossil fuel industry in New Mexico. He argued New Mexico was the second-highest oil producer in the U.S. and its leaders should bolster the industry that accounted for almost half of the state’s revenue in the last fiscal year.
“As a national leader in oil production, New Mexico’s leaders should do all they can to support our energy industry,” Behrens said. “Instead, Santa Fe politicians want to copy failed policies that punish families by driving up prices.”
Environmental groups were quick to celebrate the bills passage, arguing on the day of the signature that the clean fuel standards would take meaningful action to limit environmental damage believed the result of fossil fuel pollution.
More: 2024 Legislative session wrap up: Here’s how energy and environment bills fared
“The introduction of low-carbon alternative fuels, like biodiesel, is a key step in reducing carbon emissions in the transportation industry and will deliver cleaner air and improved health outcomes in real time for New Mexico communities,” said Samantha Kao with Conservation Voters New Mexico.
“We still have a lot of work to do in combating climate pollution and decarbonizing our transportation sector, but this bill is a critical steppingstone in helping us get to a 100% clean energy future.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.
SANTA FE, N.M. — The New Mexico Department of Justice is now suing online prediction market platform, Kalshi, after four of the state’s tribes sued the platform in May.
The NMDOJ, led by state Attorney General Raul Torrez, is alleging Kalshi unlawfully offers online sports betting in the state by allowing people to place wagers on sporting events on its online platform.
In New Mexico, sports betting is legal but is limited to in-person wagering at tribal casinos. The NMDOJ cited this framework as the basis for suing Kalshi, accusing the platform of trying to skirt state gaming laws and regulations.
“New Mexico has a longstanding and carefully balanced system for regulating gaming that protects consumers, ensures accountability and respects tribal sovereignty,” Torrez said. “The only lawful gaming in New Mexico operates either under tribal-state gaming compacts or under strict state regulations to ensure honest gaming free from corruption and licenses gaming operators only after they explain how they plan to address compulsive gambling. Kalshi has ignored that framework entirely while offering online sports betting within the state.
“We are filing this lawsuit to protect the integrity of our laws, our regulatory system and, most importantly, consumers.”
The NMDOJ accused Kalshi of using “event contracts” to effectively make online sports betting happen in the state. They alleged these contracts function in the same way as traditional sports bets and operate in the state without any gaming license.
NMDOJ also pointed out Kalshi operates with a minimum betting age of 18 years old, three years younger than the minimum age at the state’s tribal casinos.
In May, the Sandia, Isleta and Pojoaque Pueblos and the Mescalero Apache Tribe filed their own lawsuit, pointing out the minimum age and alleging people are using it on their lands in violation of their exclusive rights to offer betting services.
In its lawsuit, NMDOJ is looking to halt Kalshi’s operations in New Mexico and prevent the company from continuing to offer sports-related wagering through its platform.
KOB has yet to receive a statement from Kalshi on either lawsuit.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A local business owner estimates he suffered about $1 million in damages as the result of yet another fire at a South Valley recycling plant.
Town Recycling on Broadway Blvd. SE has witnessed two fires in a span of less than two weeks with the first happening May 23rd and the second occurring Tuesday of this week.
Khalil Samaha, who owns Samcar, Inc. and Cedar’s Construction next door, says his businesses escaped without serious damage from the first fire, but the second one led to the loss of his main building, inventory he sells including trucks, construction equipment, computers, records, and much more.
“It’s a total mess. Everything is on the ground with water and insulation. It’s a total loss,” he said.
He gave KOB 4 a tour of his damaged property Wednesday and says that county officials have condemned the main office and won’t let him back inside.
“You can see all the glass is popped,” he said pointing to the windows. “I don’t know if the firefighters broke them or they exploded.”
A spokesperson for Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue issued a statement saying that, based on witness accounts, both fires may have started in a “bale of cardboard” at the recycling facility.
As of Wednesday evening, Broadway between Prosperity and Rio Bravo remained closed.
Samaha says firefighters attempted to battle the second fire from a different area than the first and the wind may have made conditions tougher.
“This time, the wind didn’t help,” he said. “So, it was blowing in my direction and took the building and some equipment in the back.”
Having seen two fires at the neighboring recycling facility in a span of about 11 days, he wonders if this will finally be the end of it.
“I hope it’s the last time. But, worried? Yes, we are worried,” he said. “We are close to them, and the materials are close to the fence. We share the fence together, so it’s always in the back of your mind.”
And now he lives with the memory of how quickly everything can change – just like it did earlier this week.
“It was very quick. From the smoke to the flame to the fire, it was very, very quick.”
A representative of Town Recycling declined our request for an interview.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University President Niel Woolf has sued the school, claiming leaders pushed him to redirect a $600,000 contract to a chairman’s friend.
Woolf filed the lawsuit after the university placed him on administrative leave at the beginning of May.
He says Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez told him to cancel a $600,000 agreement with an out-of-state contractor and give it to a local contractor.
Woolf says that company is led by a friend of both Sanchez and his brother-in-law, Sen. Pete Campos, who represents Las Vegas.
In the lawsuit, Woolf says Sanchez told him directing the funds to his friend would “go a long way towards securing money for the University from Senator Campos,” said Woolf.
Woolf is seeking damages and attorney’s fees under the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act.
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