Democrats will again push in session to pass New Mexico green amendment

Jan. 3—Some Democratic lawmakers hope their persistence in trying to push through a green amendment will pay off in the upcoming legislative session and allow voters to decide in November whether to make a clean, healthy environment a constitutional right in New Mexico.

The sponsors of the proposed amendment think a fourth attempt at passage could see success, even if the 2024 session is only 30 days, creating a narrow funnel that allows only a fraction of competing bills and measures to pass.

In the past three sessions, a green amendment stalled for various reasons, despite Democrats having a lopsided majority in both chambers. The measure has had strong Democratic backing — though far from absolute — and zero Republicans supporting it.

Advocates say it will compel officials to enforce current laws and enable them to draw on constitutional authority when regulations don't adequately cover specific threats to the environment or public health.

Opponents argue it could lead to government overreach that would hurt the state's industries — including oil and gas, agriculture, timber and mining — and the communities that depend on the jobs in those sectors.

State Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, one of the sponsors, said people need this additional leverage to prod state leaders — including lawmakers — into doing a better job at protecting the environment.

"Our Legislature is not doing right by our environment," said Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque.

One example is Texas, hardly a model of green stewardship, which requires companies to show they're using the best pollution control technology when applying for permits. New Mexico has no such laws, Sedillo Lopez said.

New Mexico could be the fourth state to adopt a green amendment, joining New York, Montana and Pennsylvania. Three other states have environmental provisions in their constitutions, but the green amendment differs in that it is placed in the bill of rights, giving citizens more leverage to sue governments for failing to protect the environment.

This measure again will have Senate and House versions to double its chances of success. As with the past two attempts, about two dozen Democratic lawmakers are co-sponsoring it.

As a proposed amendment, it won't require Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's approval in order to be taken up in a 30-day session. If it passes both chambers, it will go before voters in the fall election, and not to the governor to sign or veto.

Although the measure bypasses the governor, it would benefit by having her support, Sedillo Lopez said.

The Governor's Office didn't respond Wednesday to a request to comment on what Lujan Grisham thought of a green amendment.

Sedillo Lopez said the governor's staffers once told her she won't get involved in legislation over which she has no control. In this case, the governor's detachment is unfortunate, she said.

Republican legislators contend giving people more power to sue would trigger a flood of litigation, creating legal logjams in an already strained court system.

"My issues are it getting tied up in lawsuits," Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, said at a legislative Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee hearing in December. "I feel it's taking away what we're trying to do for our people to legislate and handing it over just to the judges and lawyers."

Lord said she also was concerned with letting voters decide on whether to amend the constitution when she alleged many are likely to base their choice on what they saw in a political commercial.

One Democratic lawmaker on the committee echoed GOP concerns about litigation preempting the Legislature's power under the amendment.

"We have the potential as policy makers to have that role taken away from us ... through litigation, where we would be directed, not by our constituents necessarily, but by courts in this state in the name of enforcing this provision," said Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos.

Chandler said she, like most everyone else, wants to safeguard the environment, but she doesn't think lawsuits are the preferred method to accomplish that. Making it easier for people to sue the Legislature would be disruptive, she added.

But Sedillo Lopez dismissed predictions a green amendment will spur willy-nilly litigation, contending some in the Legislature are afraid of losing authority and being held to account — all the more reason to pass the amendment, she said.

"I don't know why legislators are afraid of being told that they're not doing their duty," Sedillo Lopez said.