Proposed tax credits related to climate change and the environment were included in the final tax package this legislative session.

The hard-fought compromise between the House of Representatives and the Senate came down to the final morning of the session. The Senate approved the revised tax package, after it took several meetings from a conference committee to come to an agreement, shortly after midnight on Saturday. The House approved the package later in the morning.

The multi-billion dollar tax package that touches many areas of the state’s tax code includes tax credits for electric vehicles and charging as well as energy storage. 

It also includes various provisions to encourage development of geothermal resources. Those include income tax credits for people who own an interest in a geothermal electrical generation facility. 

Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, said the bill also creates a gross receipts tax deduction for “the sale of property and services in connection with the construction and equipping of geothermal electricity generation facilities.”

Additionally, the bill makes it so that the proceeds from motor vehicle excise taxes, which are connected to the sales of vehicles, go to roads and transportation projects.

Lente said that means electric vehicles will “finally be able to contribute to the road fund.”

The road fund is funded by the state’s gasoline taxes.