Clean Car Rules Stand Strong : Another attempt to block a state mandate requiring an increased stock of electric vehicles delivered to New Mexico car dealerships has seemingly failed. The Senate Conservation Committee on Thursday tabled Senate Bill 139 on a 5-3 party-line vote.
The legislation, with both Democratic and Republican sponsors, would directly oppose clean car rules adopted in 2023 by Albuquerque and state environmental boards, similar to an appeal denied by the New Mexico Court of Appeals to block the rules. However, since the Senate Conservation Committee voted 5-3 to table the legislation, the effort has stalled.
Starting next year, the clean car rules require that 43% of all cars and light-duty trucks that manufacturers ship to auto dealerships in New Mexico must be zero-emission vehicles. Similarly, 15% of all commercial heavy-duty trucks shipped to dealerships must be zero-emission.
The percentages increase over time: 51% clean car deliveries by model year 2028, 59% clean car deliveries by model year 2029, 68% clean car deliveries by model year 2030, 76% clean car deliveries by model year 2031, and 82% clean car deliveries by model year 2032.
Bill proponents voiced concerns about a lack of charging stations in New Mexico and that rural residents, particularly those working in agriculture, are unable to use EVs to transport heavy tools or materials.
There is a stark disparity in charging infrastructure in rural areas compared to urban areas in New Mexico. Of the 326 charging station in the state as of November, 73% are concentrated in metropolitan areas, according to a legislative policy report from December. That leaves 27% of stations in rural areas, including 4% located on tribal lands.
While the New Mexico Department of Transportation plans to fill out infrastructure in the later years of its five-year interstate corridor buildout plan, according to the report, a federal administration seeking to block funding initiatives like EV chargers could complicate that.
The Federal Highway Administration in 2024 announced a $63.8 million grant to install charging centers in Hidalgo and Doña Ana counties. But earlier this month, the FHA announced it would suspend states’ EV infrastructure rollout plans.
It’s unclear if that money has been allocated or spent yet; the state’s Department of Transportation didn’t respond by time of publication to requests for information.
Meanwhile, Larry Behrens, spokesperson for Power the Future, said the FHA suspension of the federal EV charger funding program is long overdue.
“The reality is very simple: if electric vehicles, and their infrastructure, were in real demand, then taxpayers wouldn’t need to spend billions to prop them up. … Taking away public dollars from this program and letting New Mexicans decide what they want to drive is a great step toward fiscal sanity,” he said.
And, New Mexico has fewer charging stations than the average of similar states and the nation. However, it also has better EV-to-charging station ratios at 46.6 EVs to one station, compared to the national average of 87.
Less than 1% of cars or other light-duty vehicles statewide are EVs, according to the report, though adoption has grown over the past decade.
Advocates for SB139 argued the mandates could force local car dealerships out of business if salespeople aren’t able to sell the EVs they acquire. Plus, the rules don’t bar people from purchasing gas vehicles out of state, said Senate Minority Whip Pat Woods, R-Broadview, the bill’s sponsor.
That’s why bill expert Ken Ortiz, with the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association, said the rule does “nothing to clean up the air.”
Transportation is the state’s second-largest greenhouse gas emissions source, accounting for 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions, according to the legislative report. Transportation is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases nationwide.
The still-standing clean car rule is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 62%, nitrogen oxides by 43% and particulate matter by 24% from the transportation sector, according to the report.
There are other ways for the SB139 to resurface, like a by committee motion to reconsider or reintroduction through blank legislation known as “dummy bills,” so it’s not definitively the end of the line.
“This bill is not about electric vehicles. … The bill is about government mandates, where the government is trying to tell New Mexicans what vehicles they should be driving,” Woods said.
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