Legislature greens up after 2008 election
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Organization says 33 House members, 17 senators 'pro-conservation'
11/17/2008 -
Not all of those elated by this year's election results are seeing blue. Some are admiring the green.Environmentalists picked up a significant number of seats in the Legislature — enough, they say, to allow them to quit putting all their energy into playing defense.
"This is definitely the biggest election year ... the New Mexico environmental community can ever remember," said Sandy Buffett, executive director of Conservation Voters New Mexico.
The organization counted a gain of eight "pro-conservation" seats in the Legislature as a result of this year's primary and general elections.
By CVNM's tally, 33 of next year's House members and 17 senators are "pro-conservation."
That's within sight of the organization's goal of a "pro-conservation majority" — 36 in the House and 22 in the Senate — by 2013.
The shift means that "we can move from a defensive position to a more proactive position," Buffett said.
CVNM's political action committee pumped money into 23 legislative races in the recent election season, and 21 of those candidates won.
They included the general election contests in which three Republican senators were ousted: GOP Whip Leonard Lee Rawson of Las Cruces, Steve Komadina of Corrales and Diane Snyder of Albuquerque.
CVNM also was key to the primary election defeats of three incumbent Democrats: Sens. Shannon Robinson and James Taylor, and Rep. Dan Silva, all from Albuquerque.
For the past few legislative sessions, environmentalists have scrambled to fight unfriendly measures they said would roll back existing protections.
Now, they envision being able to focus instead on proposals they want.
Incentives for residential and large-scale solar energy projects, for example. Or a permanent funding source for land conservation. Or a requirement for state-level environmental assessment before a plant is opened.
"I think that it's a new day for the conservation community at the New Mexico roundhouse," Buffett said.
Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, said the Legislature's greener tint in 2009 could make things tougher on oil and gas producers.
He worries that lawmakers facing a budget crunch may try to increase taxes on the industry in an effort to generate revenue.
He decries "feel-good legislation ... by obstructionist groups" in the name of environmental protection.
"And it's only going to get worse when you have newly elected people chomping at the bit to take on the big, bad, oil and gas industry," he said.
The industry was bitterly opposed to new, tougher regulations the Richardson administration has enacted for on-site waste disposal pits at drilling operations.
That dispute spilled over into the Legislature this year. Environmentalists managed to defeat various measures they viewed as attacks on the regulatory process — including an early Senate version of the state budget that cut staff at regulatory agencies.
They also blocked a bill creating a regulatory task force that business groups said would streamline regulations and environmentalists said could unravel them.
