New Mexico
New Mexico Green Amendment to be filed in Legislature this week • Source New Mexico
A proposal to create a fundamental right to a clean environment on par with other rights found in New Mexico’s constitution will return to the Legislature in the coming days.
The sponsors will prefile the legislation this week, Sen. Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque), said during a news conference Tuesday with other sponsors and advocates. Lawmakers have already turned in bills dealing with tribal education, retired public sector workers’ health care and foster care in advance of the session starting Jan. 21.
If passed and signed into law, the legislation would create a ballot question asking voters whether to add a Green Amendment to the New Mexico Constitution.
Traditional environmental laws often fail to prevent harm because they focus on regulating how much damage pollution does, rather than preventing it altogether, argues Maya van Rossum, founder of the nonprofit Green Amendments for the Generations.
Three states have constitutional Green Amendments that protect people’s right to clean water and air, a safe climate and a healthy environment, van Rossum said during the news conference: Pennsylvania, Montana and New Jersey.
Similar amendments have been proposed in 19 other states, she said, with an ongoing ballot initiative in one state.
If the amendment passes, New Mexico would be the first state in the country to explicitly recognize in its state constitutional Bill of Rights the right of all people, including future generations, to a safe climate, she said.
It would also be the first to lift up critical environmental justice protections to that highest constitutional level, she said.
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Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration has passed strong regulations to protect the environment, said Sen. Antoinette Sedillo López (D-Albuquerque), but she is worried about how the federal government could try to roll back those gains.
The Green Amendment is a way to protect New Mexico from the excesses of the incoming Donald Trump administration, she said.
It will be the fifth time the Green Amendment has been debated at the Roundhouse. The proposal has been introduced every year since 2021.
Previous versions of the bill would have repealed an existing part of the state constitution that recognizes that the Legislature has a duty to protect commonly owned natural resources and ensure the public can use them. This year’s version keeps that in place, van Rossum said.
It took 10 years of persistent advocacy and some changes in who had power at the Roundhouse to end the death penalty, Sedillo López said.
“We have some changes in the Legislature, and we have a growing number of advocates who continue to provide sustained advocacy,” she said of the efforts around the Green Amendment. “And, we have persistent legislators. We will get this done.”
It also took five years of legislative debate to create New Mexico’s community solar program, Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Albuquerque) noted.
Roybal Caballero said so long as New Mexico lacks necessary guardrails like the Green Amendment, the state’s inhabitants remain at risk of declining children’s health, raging wildfires and flash floods.
“Our right to clean air, water, soil and environment should be protected above profits for the elite,” Roybal Caballero said. “Let New Mexicans decide if we prefer drinkable water for ourselves and future generations, or to continue to line the pocketbooks of the elite few.”
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Southeastern New Mexico will see some snow while other places will generally see cooler, more winter-like temperatures. See the latest conditions at KOB.com/Weather.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Some notable cities in New Mexico could see multiple inches of snow, along with possible wind and cooler temperatures Sunday into Monday.
There is going to be snow across the southeast. A winter storm advisory is in effect all throughout areas like Ruidoso and out toward the Texas state line. A winter storm warning for Carlsbad and even a blizzard warning for the Guadalupe Mountains. These advisories and warnings indicate it’s going to continue until Monday at 6 p.m.
How much snow might there be? Ruidoso could see a few inches, along with other higher-elevation areas. Carlsbad might even see as much as two inches and Roswell has a very good chance of snow.
Wind gusts ranged from 23 mph for Hobbs and Clovis, 25 in Santa Rosa and similar readings in other places. Temperatures could hit sub-freezing temperatures in places like Ruidoso, Roswell, Carlsbad and Hobbs. Meanwhile, Gallup and Grants could get into the single-digits. Plus, places like Albuquerque and Santa Fe will be in the 20s but the big “winner” is Alamosa, Colorado, with 2 degrees.
Chief Meteorologist Eddie Garcia shares all the details in his full forecast in the video above.
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The New Mexico Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 27, 2025, results for each game:
Powerball
05-20-34-39-62, Powerball: 01, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Day: 4-1-4
Evening: 3-8-4
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Lotto America
08-10-20-47-50, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 05
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 6-9-5-0
Day: 4-9-4-3
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Roadrunner Cash
03-21-24-33-37
Check Roadrunner Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Powerball Double Play
13-22-33-61-62, Powerball: 20
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Las Cruces Sun-News editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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