HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 5

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

David M. Gallegos and Mary Kay Papen

A JOINT MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF INCREASING NATURAL GAS VEHICLE USE IN THE UNITED STATES AND NEW MEXICO; REQUESTING A STUDY ON HOW TO BUILD THE NATURAL GAS VEHICLE MARKET WITHIN THE STATE.

     WHEREAS, energy independence and security has been a national goal that the United States has pursued for over forty years; and

     WHEREAS, the transportation sector accounts for one-fourth of national energy consumption; and

     WHEREAS, the United States has abundant natural gas reserves, and production is expected to continue to grow over the next twenty-five years; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico is a leading producer of natural gas, and if it were ranked as an independent country, New Mexico would be considered the twenty-seventh largest natural gas producer in the world; and

     WHEREAS, natural gas production is a key component of New Mexico's economy, resulting in revenues accounting for approximately one-seventh of the state's budget; and

     WHEREAS, on September 14, 2015, a new state energy policy for New Mexico that includes a goal of building the market for natural gas vehicles was announced; and

     WHEREAS, improving air quality has been a continuing goal of New Mexico's urban centers for over forty years; and

     WHEREAS, as a fuel for cars and trucks, natural gas provides several environmental benefits compared to gasoline and diesel, including lower particulate matter emissions and reduced release of greenhouse gases in the production chain from well to consumer; and

     WHEREAS, natural gas vehicles emit less than seventy-five percent of the carbon dioxide and only five percent of the nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide emitted by gasoline and diesel vehicles; and

     WHEREAS, on December 3, 2015, the United States congress passed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, also known as the FAST Act, a five-year authorization for federal highway spending that includes many incentives to promote the use of natural gas vehicles; and

     WHEREAS, programs using proven technologies to retrofit diesel vehicles to reduce particulate matter can qualify for federal funding under the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, also known as CMAQ, and the FAST Act specifically extends CMAQ funding authority to include port facilities; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has a fast-growing inland port at Santa Teresa, which has become a key component of the state's economic growth; and

     WHEREAS, school systems and municipalities have historically saved money over the long term by using natural gas vehicles instead of gasoline or diesel for their bus fleets due to lower prices per energy equivalent units, greater stability in fuel price and lower vehicle maintenance costs; and

     WHEREAS, two key obstacles to greater use of natural gas vehicles for large vehicle fleet owners have been highway weight limitations that have not accounted for the greater weight of natural gas fuel systems and an inadequate number of fueling stations along major highway corridors; and

     WHEREAS, the FAST Act creates a weight allowance for natural gas vehicles on federal highways and requires the United States secretary of transportation to designate national alternative fuel corridors by December 2016;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that building the number of governmental and private-sector natural gas vehicle fleets in the state would have significant economic and air quality benefits for New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that increasing the market share of natural gas vehicles within the state will help New Mexico's urban and economic centers stay ahead of changing national air quality standards; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it would benefit the residents and businesses of New Mexico for the state to develop its own alternative vehicle corridor plan to be incorporated into the national plan required by the FAST Act; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the energy, minerals and natural resources department and the economic development department be requested to develop a report that identifies:           A. how New Mexico can increase the use of natural gas vehicles within the state that includes the current status of the state's natural gas vehicle market;

          B. obstacles to increasing the use of these vehicles by large fleet operators and by individual consumers;

          C. the methods being used by other states to promote their natural gas vehicle markets;

          D. the potential for New Mexico to receive congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program funding and other federal funding to increase natural gas vehicle use; and

          E. a plan for alternative fuel corridors within the state; and

            BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in the development of the report, the energy, minerals and natural resources department and the economic development department be requested to consult with members of the New Mexico natural gas vehicle coalition; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the energy, minerals and natural resources department and the economic development department be requested to present this report to the appropriate interim legislative committee prior to November 15, 2016; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, the secretary of economic development and the governor.

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