gas tax

Gas prices set to skyrocket after MLG signs 50+ cent per gallon gas tax bill

47 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, the far-left, anti-energy Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed H.B. 41 into law. The bill sponsored by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) is dubbed the “clean fuel standard.”

The bill will increase gas prices by at least 50 cents per gallon, and you can expect similar increases in groceries and supplies and pretty much everything else. This bill will make life more expensive in New Mexico for average consumers — harming the poorest New Mexicans, who will take the biggest hit with the new law. 

The bill finally passed the Legislature by a thin margin of 36-33 in the House of Representatives.

California, Oregon, and Washington have similar laws in place, and the gas prices in these states have risen significantly due to the radical proposal. 

According to the California Energy Commission, “Filling up the tank in California also costs more since gasoline prices are higher on average than the rest of the United States for a few reasons. These reasons include the isolated nature of the state’s transportation fuels market, a special gasoline recipe that reduces air pollution, environmental program costs, and taxes.” 

Washington State’s Department of Ecology’s May 12, 2022 report admitted the price increase due to the Clean Fuel Standard in the state, while an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality report acknowledged significant cost increases due to its version of the law.

Now, as New Mexicans battle the crippling burdens of inflation among ramifications from other legislation passed, consumers will be saddled with the brunt of the extreme legislation to hike gas prices to high levels the state has never seen before. 

Despite the ramifications to New Mexicans, Democrats celebrated the extremist bill being signed into law:

State Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), also the Piñon Post’s editor, wrote about the bill taking effect, “Remember the gas prices now here in NM — and this is after over three years of Joe Biden’s hellscape. The governor and her allies in the Legislature are hiking our gas prices by over 50 CENTS PER GALLON with the horrific HB41. Hold THEM accountable by electing the strongest conservative fighters in the June primary and then the November general election to take them out and finally take out the trash!” 

“It’s clear that Governor Lujan Grisham took a look at California’s highest gas prices in the nation and decided that’s what she wants for New Mexico’s families,” said Larry Behrens, Communications Director for Power The Future, following the bill’s signing. “As a national leader in oil production, New Mexico’s leaders should do all they can to support our energy industry. Instead, Santa Fe politicians want to copy failed policies that punish families by driving up prices.”

Gas prices set to skyrocket after MLG signs 50+ cent per gallon gas tax bill Read More »

All of the worst bills passed during the 30-day legislative session

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

The 30-day legislative session was a success on many fronts for liberty-minded New Mexicans, with proposals to enact a “Green Amendment,” mandatory paid family and medical leave, and bans on most firearms, among other far-left initiatives not making it across the finish line.

However, some bad legislation seeped through. Here are all the worst bills that got passed during the 2024 Legislative Session. Click the “NEXT” button below to see the list of items:

All of the worst bills passed during the 30-day legislative session Read More »

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Legislative update: Both chambers to consider extreme Dem tax increases Thursday

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the Senate Finance Committee rammed a bill, S.B. 14 by state Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) through in record time — less than 15 minutes — to enact a “clean fuel standard,” which would result in a 20 to 35+ cent gas tax, harming the poorest and most vulnerable New Mexicans. The committee did not take public comment and just passed the bill, with a minor amendment regarding the bill’s funding. The measure passed 6-4 with little to no protest from any Republicans on the panel. 

The anti-energy senator wrote on Twitter after the vote, “Thanks to @GovMLG for her incredible leadership on #S14, Enacting the Clean Fuel Standard Act. @GovMLG is keeping us on track to be the greenest state in the country!” Many New Mexicans responded in anger, including state Sen. Jacob Candelaria who shared a GIF labeling the Governor and Stewart as “a little delusional.”

The House Health and Human Services Committee passed 7-3 a bill that would ”appropriate funds for the installation of “baby boxes” for people to safely surrender infants and avoid situations like in Hobbs where a teen mother callously her newborn child in a dumpster. It would also provide for “educating the public about safe surrender of infants, including the location and use of surrender safety devices.” The bill failed after Reps. Joanne Ferrary (D-Doña Ana), Karen Bash (D-Bernalillo), Marian Matthews (D-Bernalillo), and Liz Thomson (D-Bernalillo) tried and failed to table the bill. 

According to Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park), Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) further stacked the House Judiciary Committee with radical Democrat “progressives” in a power move following his fellow Democrat, Rep. Miguel Garcia (D-Bernalillo) blasting him in a fiery letter. 

Lord wrote, “Today, New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf appointed an additional progressive member to House Judiciary in order to ensure progressive rule in this key committee; a committee that was already dominated eight to four by Democrats. This over-the-top reaction to the insubordination of the Speaker’s Judiciary appointees, who are not following his or the Governor’s direction on supporting or killing bills, happened on the same day that the Speaker was blasted by Democrat Representative Miguel Garcia (D-Albuquerque) in the Albuquerque Journal.” 

The House Judiciary Committee considered H.B. 9, by Democrat ballot harvester and Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Bernalillo), a radical anti-gun bill that would mandate citizens to lock up their guns. 

“It is unlawful for a person who keeps or stores a firearm to do so in such manner that the firearm is accessed by a minor without the authorization of the minor’s parent or guardian or when used in the commission of a crime,” the bill reads. It continues, “When a firearm is accessed by a minor and used in the commission of a crime, the person who keeps or stores the firearm commits unlawful access to a firearm by a minor and is guilty of a misdemeanor.” 

The bill was stalled until Friday for Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Santa Fe) to make amendments to the bill. Details on the bill’s next appearance will be included in a subsequent Piñon Post legislative update.

What’s happening Thursday:

The full Senate will consider Sen. Stewart’s extremist 35+ cent-per-gallon gas tax bill, according to the floor calendar. New Mexicans are urged to contact their state senators and urge them to vote “NO” on the radical bill that will hurt the poorest New Mexicans. Find your legislator here.

H.B. 158, REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAXES & SOCIAL SECURITY, by Rep. Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe)

This bill would enact one of the highest taxes on real estate transfer (and purchase) in the nation. The bill reads, “An excise tax is imposed on all instruments evidencing a transfer of any interest in residential property. The rate of tax shall be: (1) one-half percent of the consideration for the interest in residential property transferred by the instrument if the price of the residential property was at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) and up to seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000); and (2) one and twenty-five hundredths percent of the consideration for the interest in residential property transferred by the instrument if the price of the residential property was at least seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000).” The Zoom details for the meeting are below:

When: Feb 3, 2022 01:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82353539692 Or One tap mobile : US: +16699009128,,82353539692# or +12532158782,,82353539692# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 823 5353 9692

H.B. 49, EXEMPT SOCIAL SECURITY INCOME FROM INCOME TAX, by Reps. Gail Armstrong (R-Soccorro) and Cathrynn Brown (R-Carlsbad)

This GOP-led bill will eliminate the double-taxation of Social Security income to senior citizens. It is a mirror of H.B. 48, which was recently revived in the House Labor, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee. The Zoom details for the meeting are below:

When: Feb 3, 2022 01:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82353539692 Or One tap mobile : US: +16699009128,,82353539692# or +12532158782,,82353539692# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 823 5353 9692

Legislative update: Both chambers to consider extreme Dem tax increases Thursday Read More »

Legislative update: Wed. hearings for 35+ cent-per-gallon gas tax, ‘baby box’ bills

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, the New Mexico House Labor, Veteran and Military Affairs Committee voted to revive a previously tabled H.B. 48 by state Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R-Carlsbad), which would exempt state taxes on social security, which is currently double-taxed in the state.

State Rep. Miguel García, (D-Bernalillo), asked Chairman Eliseo Alcon (D-Milan), to give the bill another shot since all members of the committee were present. The bill advanced and it now will be heard in the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. 

H.B. 156, a radical anti-gun bill by Rep. Patricia Roybal-Caballero that would ban firearm magazines with more than 15 rounds, died in committee with a unanimous vote against it following concerns brought by the public and state Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park) of the bill creating a “pipeline to prison” for minorities and low-income families. State Rep. Randall Pettigrew (R-Lea) made the motion to table the bill.

Here are the bills to note for Wednesday:

S.B. 14, ENACTING THE CLEAN FUEL STANDARD ACT, by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo)

Stewart is an ardent anti-energy Democrat who has for years proposed this extreme legislation that would install “clean fuel standards,” resulting in a 20 to 35 cent per gallon tax on gasoline, which would harm the poorest New Mexicans. This bill harms the most vulnerable New Mexicans and testimony is requested against it. 

The bill will be heard on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in the Senate Finance Committee. The Zoom details are below: 

For public participation, click the following link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81679647964 to join the Webinar or
via telephone 1-669-900-9128 Webinar ID: 816 7964 7964

H.B. 157, SURRENDER OF INFANTS,  by Rep. Ambrose Castellano (D-Ribera)

This bipartisan bill is primarily sponsored by Reps. Castellano and James Strickler (R-Farmington) would appropriate funds for the installation of “baby boxes” for people to safely surrender infants and avoid situations like in Hobbs where a teen mother callously her newborn child in a dumpster. It would also provide for “educating the public about safe surrender of infants, including the location and use of surrender safety devices.”

The bill will be heard at 8:30 a.m. in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday.

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84182969724  Or One tap mobile : US: +12532158782,,84182969724# or +13462487799,,84182969724# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 841 8296 9724 

S.B. 144, INTIMIDATION OF ELECTION WORKERS by Sen. Katie Duhigg (D-Bernalillo)

According to the bill’s fiscal impact report, “Senate Bill 144 amends the Election Code relating to the crime of intimidation to include acts against employees and agents of the Secretary of State, county clerks, and municipal clerks’ offices. The bill maintains that intimidation against the aforementioned parties constitutes a fourth degree felony. There is no effective date of this bill. It is assumed that the effective date is 90 days following adjournment of the Legislature..”

This bill will be heard on Wednesday at 1:30 in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Zoom details are below: For public participation click the following link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86412647187 to join the Webinar or via telephone 1-253-215-8782 Webinar ID: 864 1264 7187

Legislative update: Wed. hearings for 35+ cent-per-gallon gas tax, ‘baby box’ bills Read More »

Gas tax bill sponsor has taxpayers foot the bill for charging her electric car

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

According to photos exclusively obtained by the Piñon Post, far-left Senate Pro-Tem Sen. Mimi Stewart is taking as much as she possibly can from the New Mexico taxpayers — even plugging in her electric hybrid car in the Legislative parking garage while at work. 

Stewart drives a white Ford C-MAX Energi, which is parked in her assigned spot, as can be seen in the pictures. She is utilizing the outlet on the wall of the parking garage to plug in as she goes to work passing her party’s agenda in the Senate.

This cost comes in addition to Stewart’s $174/day per diem, which is to be spent on gas, food, and lodging. Although it is unlikely to amount to a mammoth amount of money taken from the taxpayers for the electric charge, is it a good look for a sitting state senator to be taking per diem AND grifting as much as possible from the taxpayers.

Stewart is an ardent anti-energy Democrat who has for years proposed an extreme bill that would install “clean fuel standards,” resulting in a 20 to 35 cent per gallon tax on gasoline, which would harm the poorest New Mexicans. 

“This is bigger than just the cost of gasoline…. This program does not really affect the cost of gasoline, like so many other factors that go into it,” Stewart claimed in 2021. She added,  “When everybody talks about, ‘Oh the poor are gonna be hurt,’ I do believe the poor care about the climate.”

To make matters worse, Democrat Sen. Bill Tallman (D-Bernalillo) has sponsored S.B. 55, which would create an “electric vehicle income tax credit,” which would let Sen. Stewart get at least $2,500 in a tax credit since her vehicle falls in the scope of the legislation being bought before January 1, 2027. 

So, the New Mexico taxpayers already subsidizing Stewart’s expenses while at the legislature with per diem are further paying for her electric vehicle’s charging while in Santa Fe and could potentially give the anti-energy legislator a tax credit for owning a hybrid vehicle. 

Gas tax bill sponsor has taxpayers foot the bill for charging her electric car Read More »

MLG’s gas tax on the poor is coming back

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

During the 2021 Legislative Session, the Piñon Post helped in the defeat of the radical “Clean Fuel Standards” bill sponsored by state Sen. Mimi Stewart, which would result in a 20+ cent per gallon gas tax, hurting the poorest New Mexicans.

As we previously reported in July, the proposal, which is supported by scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, will try to bring the failed proposal back to further harm New Mexicans already being harmed by the currently inflamed gas prices:

Our report noted:

According to a press release from the Governor’s Environment Department, “In her remarks, Gov. Lujan Grisham highlighted the innovative ways New Mexico is addressing climate change, including reducing emissions from the utility sector and the oil and gas industry, adopting clean car standards, prioritizing clean fuel standard legislation, investing in green energy job training, and making New Mexico the nation’s largest hydrogen hub. Through a whole-of-government approach, New Mexico is decarbonizing and diversifying its economy.” 

It is important to note that she mentioned “adopting clean fuel standards.” Not only is this concerning regarding a standard on industries, such as the transportation industry, but it is concerning regarding citizens if she chooses to try to impose a clean car standard on the average citizen.

By implementing this on industries, it would result in an at least 20+ cent per gallon gas tax on the poor, a proposal that failed during the 2021 Legislative Session, with even Democrat senators being hesitant to support it.

But a “clean car standard” for everyday citizens would mean forcing New Mexico’s citizens — a state with some of the poorest people in the nation — to buy expensive “fuel-efficient,” “green,” “hybrid,” or fully electric vehicles — crippling New Mexicans’ bank accounts and forcing thousands to either break the law, walk, or not travel at all. It would plunge countless people into financial ruin, resulting in an economic catastrophe for New Mexico. 

But the Governor’s new “Clean Fuel Standards Act” has been drafted and is ready for the 2022 legislative session, being touted as one of Lujan Grisham’s top priorities.

The new bill, according to the Rio Grande Foundation, “would lead to a 35 cent/gallon increase in gasoline prices. That’s based on the Environment Department’s statement that [the] bill targets reductions “carbon intensity” of 20% by 2030 and 30% by 2040 from 2018 levels.”

The poorest New Mexicans are set to be harmed the most by this proposal and Piñon Post urges citizens, as they did in the 2021 Legislative Session, to again advocate against this legislation. 

MLG’s gas tax on the poor is coming back Read More »

TODAY: Legislators scramble to ram through gas tax on the poor, recreational pot bills

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, legislators stayed up late to duke it out over bills regarding a ballot initiative to raid New Mexico’s permanent fund and pass through a trapping ban on public lands. The question of whether to raid the permanent fund will go to the voters in the next election and the trapping ban bill goes to the Governor’s desk. The body also debated H.B. 20, the “Healthy Workplaces Act,” where Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo) and Pro-Tem Mimi Stewart continued their feud. The bill passed by 25-16.

However, there are many hotly contested bills that Democrats still hope to ram through in their dead-of-night, closed-door legislative process, including initiatives to harvest gender and sexual identity information from citizens, legalize recreational marijuana, and pass a radical gas tax on the poor.

Recreational Marijuana Bill

The extreme pot bill, H.B. 12, finally was pushed through its final committee this week after Chairman Joseph Cervantes was “pushed” by Democrat leadership to hear the bill and fast-track it so it could reach the full Senate before the session closes at noon on Saturday. 

This marijuana legalization bill according to the bill sponsor, Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo) “makes for the perfect conditions if you will. I don’t think the opportunity has ever been better than it is now to pass a legalization bill.” He says New Mexico needs the bill to cover for gaps in the budget, despite revenue projections being astronomically lower with recreational legalization of pot in states that have legalized it like the state of Colorado.

The revenue projections from the fiscal impact report claim in 2022 the law will increase state revenues by $15,186,000. Mind you, the state’s projected budget is over $7 billion, meaning pot legalization would only make up 0.2% of revenues. Even with the bill’s higher projections of $35,128,400 in revenues by 2024, that would only be approximately 0.5% of the needed revenues for a state budget projected at $7 billion. 

Pro-family groups such as the Family Policy Alliance are organizing against the legalized pot bills, making the case that, “Since Colorado legalized recreational weed, our neighboring state has seen a dramatic increase in violent crime, traffic fatalities, and marijuana hospitalizations. And usage by minors – sometimes fatal, from eating poorly regulated marijuana “candies” – has soared.” 

The Senate will likely vote on the proposal Friday after a long debate. The bill, if passed through the chamber, would need to make its way back over to the House of Representatives for the lower chamber to approve the amendments made in the Senate before hitting the Governor’s desk. It is unclear if all of this can be achieved in a single day. 

Find and contact your legislator to oppose the bill by clicking here.

Read more about New Mexico legislators bankrolled by the big marijuana lobby. 

Gas Tax on the Poor

The extreme gas tax on the poor, S.B. 11, passed the House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee on a party-line vote, despite concerns of New Mexicans’ gas prices being hiked by 20+ cents — harming poor and middle-class New Mexicans the most. 

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) callously dismissed these concerns, claiming that in other states who have implemented these extreme policies, “Gas is cheaper now than when they started.”

That was a lie.

“When everybody talks about, ‘Oh the poor are gonna be hurt,’ I do believe the poor care about the climate,” said Stewart.

Despite the concerns from poor New Mexicans, the committee advanced her bill, which is scheduled to be heard today on the House floor. 

Find and contact your legislator to oppose the bill by clicking here.

Harvesting Gender and Sexual Identity Info

This extreme bill, S.B. 316, brought forth by Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Doña Ana) harvests gender and sexual identity information from New Mexicans, putting more information into the hands of the state government, for them to use for whatever they want. The bill is mostly copy/pasted from a California bill, Assembly Bill 677 from 2017, and would put this private information in the hands of government bad actors who could weaponize this data against New Mexicans.

The House of Representatives will likely consider this bill today

Find and contact your legislator to oppose the bill by clicking here.

TODAY: Legislators scramble to ram through gas tax on the poor, recreational pot bills Read More »

Sen. Stewart callously dismisses concerns as committee rams through gas tax hike on the poor

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee convened to discuss S.B. 11, the de-facto gas tax on the poor by over 20 cents per gallon. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo). 

When asked simple questions about her bill and the math not adding up in the cost of gasoline pushed on consumers, she erroneously claimed, “Gas is cheaper now than when they started.” However, according to raw gas prices from California and Oregon, the states she championed as models for New Mexico, the prices in 2014 and 2015 for California and Oregon respectively were cheaper then than when they implemented the clean fuel standards.

Rep. James Strickler (R-San Juan) brought up the fact that the California equivalent of New Mexico’s Legislative Finance Committee urged the state to shut down the clean fuel standards program due to cost concerns with transportation that ultimately went on to the consumer. 

He noted how in Farmington, where he is located, “We pay probably 25 to 30 cents higher in gasoline costs up here.” 

Stewart clapped back, “I don’t” have concerns. “I’m certainly proud that you all are concerned about low income. I don’t think it’s going to impact us,” she said, adding, “We’ve got two years to phase this in. We’re going to do it right.”

Rep. Rod Montoya (R-San Juan) echoed Rep. Strickler’s concerns, saying, “The poor are going to be the ones who are going to be the ones most affected by this.” 

At this point, Stewart got frustrated, as she did in multiple other committee hearings when faced with the truth about her unaffordable gas tax on the poor. She said,  “When everybody talks about, ‘Oh the poor are gonna be hurt,’ I do believe the poor care about the climate,” she said.

“This is bigger than just the cost of gasoline…. This program does not really affect the cost of gasoline, like so many other factors that go into it.” 

“Two cents a year — That is nothing,” she said, claiming, “I am not concerned about that because I do believe this is kind of fear mongering…. I want to answer honestly because that’s how I feel about it.” 

“The cost is in the transportation — that’s where the poor people in rural New Mexico get hit,” Montoya clapped back.

He added that the example of supposed “new investment” in New Mexico used by Stewart, a company in Clovis, had their production in Texas which was across the border.

“The problem was the delivery cost,” said Montoya. He noted that transportation costs would be “astronomical” if someone lived in a more rural area, such as Deming. “The cost was going to be outrageous,” said Montoya. 

“That’s where the poor people in rural New Mexico get hit,” he said, “The cost to transport is where the cost comes from.” 

“If you live in California and you have a lot more outlets like that, the cost goes down…. that’s a real number that’s a real factor.”  

When Stewart was pressed on the lack of legislative oversight that the commission responsible for implementing the clean fuel standard would have, she replied, “No. I have seen us year after year after year come back and make changes” She added, “I have no fears about that.” 


After dismissing the very real concerns of the rural representatives, Democrats made a motion to pass the bill, with all Democrats voting for it while all Republicans stood up for the poor and voted against it, with the S.B. 11 passing on a vote of 7-4. The gas tax on the poor bill now heads to the House floor for final approval.

Find and contact your legislator to oppose the bill by clicking here.

Sen. Stewart callously dismisses concerns as committee rams through gas tax hike on the poor Read More »

TODAY: NM House considering 20+ cent per gallon gas tax on the poor—sign up to testify

Leave a Comment / Action Alert / By

On Tuesday, the New Mexico House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Torrance, and Valencia) will hear radical gas tax on the poor bill S.B. 11 sponsored by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo). Your testimony is requested to stop this anti-worker, anti-energy bill.

S.B. 11 puts extreme clean fuel standards on businesses that produce or import transportation fuels and fuels used in motor vehicles. The restrictions on these companies would force them to invest in costly upgrades to their fuel standards, meaning these costs would transfer to the consumers. The bill also adds vague and sweeping “enviro-justice” provisions to state law.

In California and Oregon, where clean fuel standards are already in place, there are already increased costs of up to 24 cents per gallon on gas, which directly hurts poor consumers. Similar bills have been enacted in Oregon and California, states where the gas prices are 119% and 135% higher than the national average, respectively, according to AAA.

In Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee, Stewart got flustered with people calling her bill out for harming poor New Mexicans, where she insisted, “You know what gas costs in Europe? It costs $6-7 a gallon!” She said people drove smaller electric cars in the region and said she didn’t appreciate “the sky is falling” arguments regarding concerns attributed to her bill. Stewart also complained about the committee hearing nearing two hours long on her bill. 

However, senators from rural areas did, indeed, have concerns about her bill since many people in more remote areas have to drive farther to go to work and to get basic needs from neighboring towns. This de-facto gas tax would harm the poorest New Mexicans. 

But despite any logical argument otherwise, Stewart insists her bill will bring industry to New Mexico, while poor citizens foot the bill for her pipe dream. S.B. 11 was rammed through the Senate and now is being fast-tracked through the House of Representatives. The bill is a priority of far-left Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

ACTION ALERT: 

The New Mexico House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee will meet today (Tuesday, March 16, 2020) at 8:00 a.m to consider the bill. Please attend and give your testimony against the radical measure which will hurt the poor and middle classes. You can join the meeting with the below information:

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88692377623  Or iPhone one-tap : US: +16699009128,,88692377623# or +12532158782,,88692377623# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 886 9237 7623

Please reach out to members of the committee and urge them to oppose S.B. 11:

TODAY: NM House considering 20+ cent per gallon gas tax on the poor—sign up to testify Read More »

Every Democrat NM senator voted to raise gas taxes on the poor by 20+ cents per gallon

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, in a fast-track effort to ram through extreme legislation, the New Mexico Senate approved the 20+ cent gas tax on the poor, Sen. Mimi Stewart’s S.B. 11, on a party-line vote of 25-14 with every Democrat voting for it and one Democrat, Sen. Bill O’Neill (D-Bernalillo) absent for the vote. However, he has supported the measure in previous committees. 

Despite public outcry from countless New Mexicans about this bill and the measure raising gas taxes on the poorest in our state by hiking taxes on transport fuels, the outrage fell on deaf ears as Mimi Stewart is the Senate Pro Tem, meaning she can force through just about anything she wants, such as the radical abortion up-to-birth and infanticide S.B. 10, which is now law. 

S.B. 11 puts extreme clean fuel standards on businesses that produce or import transportation fuels and fuels used in motor vehicles. The restrictions on these companies would force them to invest in costly upgrades to their fuel standards, meaning these costs would transfer to the consumers. The bill also adds vague and sweeping “enviro-justice” provisions to state law.

In California and Oregon, where clean fuel standards are already in place, there are already increased costs of up to 24 cents per gallon on gas, which directly hurts poor consumers. Similar bills have been enacted in Oregon and California, states where the gas prices are 119% and 135% higher than the national average, respectively, according to AAA.

In Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee, Stewart got flustered with people calling her bill out for harming poor New Mexicans, where she insisted, “You know what gas costs in Europe? It costs $6-7 a gallon!” She said people drove smaller electric cars in the region and said she didn’t appreciate “the sky is falling” arguments regarding concerns attributed to her bill. Stewart also complained about the committee hearing nearing two hours long on her bill. 

However, senators from rural areas did, indeed, have concerns about her bill since many people in more remote areas have to drive farther to go to work and to get basic needs from neighboring towns. This de-facto gas tax would harm the poorest New Mexicans. 

But despite any logical argument otherwise, Stewart insists her bill will bring industry to New Mexico, while poor citizens foot the bill for her pipe dream. S.B. 11 now heads over to the House of Representatives, where it will be introduced, deferred to committees (likely only one), and then go for a full House of Representatives vote. 

ACTION ALERT

Reach out to members of the House of Representatives and ask them to vote “NO” on S.B. 11–the gas tax on the poor. You can find your legislator here.

Every Democrat NM senator voted to raise gas taxes on the poor by 20+ cents per gallon Read More »

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