New Mexico’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Act (SB 14) Failed to Pass by a Single Vote
On February 17, 2022, the New Mexico House of Representatives failed to pass the Clean Fuel Standard Act due to a 33–33 tie vote at 3am, just hours before the legislative session expired. The deciding issue was fuel prices, specifically the minority leader’s repeated, baseless claims leading up to the vote that the bill would raise gasoline prices. With no Republican support from the outset and two absent Democrats, enough rural district Democrats were swayed to vote against the bill on the issue. Keep in mind, New Mexico is the #2 oil and gas producing state in the country and those special interests have powerful allies in both political parties.
Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham championed the bill as a tool to transform New Mexico’s energy economy into a low carbon future. Passage of the bill was a top priority of the Low Carbon Fuels Coalition. The bill’s near passage is indicative of the tremendous momentum of Clean Fuel Standards. After all, in the previous legislative session in New Mexico, the LCFS did not even make it to a floor vote. While this setback was heartbreaking, it was inspiring to build a strong and vibrant coalition and come within inches of victory.
The bill would have established a low-carbon fuel standard with the goal of incrementally reducing the carbon intensity (CI) of the state’s transportation fuels by a minimum of 20% by 2030, and by a minimum of 30% by 2040, as compared to a 2018 baseline. Regulated producers and importers would have met annual their obligations by exceeding the standard to earn credits, or by purchasing credits from clean fuel producers for those companies that do not meet the standard.
The Low Carbon Fuels Coalition (LCFC) partnered with Adelante Consulting to develop, fund and execute out the New Mexico campaign through the formation of the New Mexico Clean Fuels Coalition (NMCFC). The comprehensive effort included public polling, PR and communications, fact sheets and other informational materials, a website and social media advertising, economic research and analysis, lobbying, multiple rounds of industry support letters, legislative outreach, and successful engagement that facilitated strong support from the major environmental NGOs in the state. The NMCFC gained and sustained broad industry support inside and outside of New Mexico throughout the campaign, with the notable exception of the agriculture/ranching/dairy sectors that declined to support and were often in opposition.
In a short 30-day legislative session we came within a single vote of establishing a Clean Fuel Standard in the second-largest oil and gas state in the country, at a time of serious headwinds with the false but oft-repeated gas price concern. The gasoline price issue is a recurring theme which the LCFC is in the process of addressing, by finalizing respected third-party economic analysis and outreach materials to bring into future campaigns.
We salute co-chair Amy Brown and Virginia Smith for their leadership, the entire Adelante team for their work, the extremely dedicated and talented lobbyist Amy Miller, the NMCFC Steering Committee, Carroll Strategies for their PR and advertising efforts, and all of our members and allies who engaged in this hard-fought bill.
Rest assured that passage of a CFS in New Mexico remains a top priority for the LCFC!