SENATE MEMORIAL 2

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Steven P. Neville and Greg Nibert

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT BOARD TO REPEAL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE.

 

     WHEREAS, climate change is a credible concern and New Mexico should be part of the solution; and

     WHEREAS, the environmental improvement board recently adopted an electric vehicle mandate that has created a serious concern for many New Mexico residents and businesses; and

     WHEREAS, the new rule requires that beginning in 2026, forty-three percent of all vehicles delivered to New Mexico for sale must be zero-emission vehicles, with the percentage increasing each year until 2032, when eighty-two percent of all vehicles delivered for sale in New Mexico must be zero-emission vehicles; and

     WHEREAS, the mandate was enacted without the support of a majority of the environmental improvement board; and

     WHEREAS, the United States and western Europe have made significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions; and

     WHEREAS, China and India have made significant increases in carbon dioxide emissions; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico's contributions to carbon dioxide levels are insignificant, and less than one percent of New Mexico's emissions are attributed to personal transportation; and

     WHEREAS, as many as one-third of the homes on the Navajo Nation do not have electricity available to charge an electric vehicle and most have inadequate infrastructure to support the charging of electric vehicles; and

     WHEREAS, most rural communities in New Mexico cannot provide adequate infrastructure to support residential electric vehicle charging or public charging stations, and many areas within metropolitan centers cannot support residential electric vehicle charging on any reasonable scale; and

     WHEREAS, it is inevitable that many potential purchasers of new vehicles will choose to buy from out-of-state automobile dealerships, resulting in a significant loss of jobs and income and the likely closure for New Mexico automobile dealerships;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the environmental improvement board be requested to immediately repeal the recently enacted electric vehicle mandate; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the environmental improvement board be requested to take no future actions concerning electric vehicles without first conducting an extensive analysis of the feasibility of electric vehicle use in New Mexico and the potential damage to businesses and the economy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the environmental improvement board.

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