County Council Passes $245 Million FY22 Budget - 7:49 am
County Council, along with County Manager Harry Burgess, right, bottom row, discuss the $2.4M budget item to purchase bear proof trash carts during Monday’s budget hearing. Councilor Sean Williams, center, and Vice Chair James Robinson, bottom left, show support for purchasing the roll carts. Screenshot/LADP
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Monday night, Los Alamos County Council approved the FY22 budget, which totals $245,119,586.
The budget was passed 6-1 with Councilor David Reagor opposed. Earlier in Monday’s budget hearing, Reagor motioned to reduce the County Manager’s budget, specifically for the Partners in Progress. He proposed reducing the program’s funding from $1.5 million to $585,000, which is the sum of the three previous projects that were in the program.
New Mexico will establish a statewide community solar program after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bill into law Monday.
Senate Bill 84, known as the Community Solar Act, passed the House and Senate during the 2021 Legislative Session which concluded in March with votes of 44-3 and 27-14, respectively.
It was drafted by New Mexico’s Community Solar Working Group created by a past resolution passed after the Act failed during the 2020 Legislative Session.
Community solar allows electricity customers to opt into a solar power from a shared facility larger than residential solar panels but smaller than a utility-scale solar farm.
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A bill that would enable communities to subscribe to solar electricity without needing to install solar panels on their homes passed the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee Thursday. The bill would direct the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) to develop and adopt rules to implement a community solar program in the state.
Community solar refers to “large, local solar arrays” that are “shared by individual community members who receive credits on their electricity bills for their portion of the power produced,” said Democratic Senator Liz Stefanics of Cerrillos, who is one of 10 sponsors of SB 84.
“Community solar makes solar power available to people who can’t access it for reasons such as renting, finances, apartment ownership, home type, etc,” Stefanics said. She added that the bill would likely lead to job creation and other economic benefits.
Kendra Chamberlain
Three environmental bills passed their first committees Tuesday. The Senate Conservation Committee passed two bills, one related to a clean fuel standard and the other related to improving air quality in the state, while the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee passed a bill to create an environmental database.
Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, presented SB 11, the Clean Fuel Standard Act, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said is one of her legislative priorities for the session. The bill would direct the New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) Environmental Improvement Board to promulgate rules creating a clean fuel standard for transportation fuels. Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, is the House sponsor of the bill.