January 15, 2021
With just one week away from the 2021 session, state legislators have prefiled over 120 bills. Here’s a glimpse of some of the environment-focused bills we’ll be watching.
The Green Amendment: State Senators Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque and Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, are proposing an amendment to the New Mexico state constitution to protect the state’s natural resources. Rep. Joanne Ferrary, D-Las Cruces is introducing the bill in the House.
The proposed constitutional amendment would provide residents of New Mexico with environmental rights, including a right to a clean and healthy environment and a right to the preservation of the environment. The amendment would also direct the state to protect environmental resources for the benefit of all the people.
Comnmentary: New Mexico leaders are applauding the Joint Resolution pre-filed Monday, January 4, by Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Senator Bill Soules, and Representative Joanne Ferrary to amend the New Mexico Constitution in order to add enforceable environmental rights. Senator Mimi Stewart, Senator Harold Pope, Jr, Representative Tara Luján and Representative Andrea Romero are signing on as co-sponsors in support. The Joint Resolution proposing the amendment was pre-filed by the sponsors on the first day legislators could pre-file their legislative proposals for the 2021 legislative session.
The Joint Resolution proposes amending the state constitution’s Bill of Rights to recognize and protect the rights of all of the people of New Mexico “to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, healthy ecosystems, and a stable climate, and to the preservation of the natural, cultural, scenic and healthful qualities of the environment”; to ensure