The Senate passed legislation that changes which projects can receive funding through the Water Trust Board on a 34-5 vote on Wednesday.

HB 211 adds wastewater projects to the list of eligible projects.

Some of the senators expressed concerns that expanding the types of projects eligible for the funding to include wastewater projects would decrease the amount of funding available for water projects.

Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, introduced an amendment that removed a clause allowing the New Mexico Finance Authority to temporarily fund projects without legislative approval. 

That pause was intended to give the NMFA a chance to get rules developed to include wastewater.

This amendment passed on a 30-9 vote.

Cervantes argued that HB 211 prior to being amended essentially asked the legislature to “pause our appropriating authority so they (NMFA) can adopt rules for wastewater.

“There’s really no need for that,” he said. “We can continue to fund water projects as we always have. And they can adopt the rules and we’ll get to fund wastewater projects when those rules are adopted.”

Cervantes said that it may take a year for those rules to get in place, but noted that the fund has never covered wastewater projects before.

“The urgency of trying to get wastewater projects in here is a good one. But it doesn’t make sense taking us out of the appropriating process just to do that,” he said.

Update: Later Wednesday evening, the House concurred with the Senate amendment and sent the bill to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk.