SANTA FE, N.M .— New Mexico lawmakers concluded the 2024 legislative session today without passing any legislation to address the climate emergency or mitigate the public health and environmental harms of pollution from the state’s booming oil and gas industry.

“It’s devastating that our leaders on both sides of the aisle continue to bow down to the oil industry, sacrificing the health of every New Mexican and particularly those in frontline communities,” said Gail Evans, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Once again our governor and legislature have failed to place any public health or environmental limitations on oil and gas companies, which our state urgently needs to keep residents safe and our planet habitable. This violates their responsibility to serve the best interests of their constituents and their constitutional duty to control pollution and protect the environment.”

Three bills sponsored by Rep. Debbie Sariñana would have established public and environmental health protections from oil and gas pollution, including creating health buffer zones around schools. However, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham limited consideration of oil and gas reforms to her administration-backed House Bill 133, which contained no protections for frontline communities. The governor effectively blocked any public health and environmental protections from even being heard. Meanwhile, HB 133 stalled on the House floor and died without being debated.

“Many frontline stakeholders, like me, were excluded from the process of reforming oil and gas legislation,” said Daniel Tso with New Mexico Land, Air, Water and the Sacred. “The governor and natural resources department capitulated to industry and removed the setbacks provision from that bill, and legislative leadership failed to champion putting health protections back in. They prioritized industry over the health and safety of children who go to school next to oil and gas wells. This means that the injustice faced by marginalized populations in our state will continue.”

The legislature also failed to pass bills that would have advanced renewable energy production and energy efficiency. For example, HB 108, which would have supported local solar energy projects, passed its first committee but was not heard again. And HB 75, which would have expanded the use of electric school buses across the state, never got a hearing.

Instead, the Lujan Grisham administration championed bills to expand hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, and the commodification of oil and gas waste (HB 9 and HB 259, and Senate Bill 215). These bills were opposed by environmental, youth and Indigenous advocates who said the technologies will perpetuate New Mexico’s reliance on the oil and gas industry and pose public health and safety risks. None of these bills became law.

“In the face of the climate crisis, it was so disappointing to see legislators introduce bills that prop up false solutions and prioritize economic interests over genuine greenhouse gas emissions reduction and equitable resource management,” said Krystal Curley (Diné), executive director of Indigenous Lifeways. “We’re calling on legislators in the next session to embrace renewable energy investments that safeguard our communities for generations to come. We have the power to redefine climate solutions that honor Indigenous values, invest in regenerative economies and prioritize the health and wellbeing of all New Mexicans.”