The Senate passed a controversial bill Tuesday night aimed at lowering the carbon intensity of transportation fuels, sending it to the governor’s desk on a 26-15 vote.
The bill sponsor Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, outlined the various benefits to the clean transportation fuel standards proposed in HB 41, ranging from economic development to improved public health.
The legislation would create a carbon credit market to help producers comply with the reduced carbon intensity standards.
Stewart said the New Mexico Environment Department, with the assistance of an advisory committee, will create a carbon intensity standard for transportation fuels. When that is set, a carbon credit market will be created.
The bill looks to reduce the carbon intensity by 20 percent below 2018 values by 2030 and 30 percent by 2040.
“These are real tangible carbon reductions,” Stewart said.
She said the bill provides incentives for innovation as well as economic opportunity.
“Let me be clear, this is not an electric car bill for urban city dwellers,” she said. “This is a real opportunity for our rural communities to sell agricultural residuals and other waste into biofuels.”
Some opponents of the bill have claimed that it will raise the cost at the pump, but Stewart said there is no evidence that such a price increase has occurred as a result of clean transportation fuel standards in the states that have adopted them.
Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, attempted to amend the legislation to essentially include a carbon sequestration bill he introduced earlier in the session, which failed to pass its first committee.
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Stewart said that carbon capture and sequestration is permitted within HB 41, however adding Sharer’s amendment would substantially change the legislation.
The amendment failed.
Then Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo, attempted to amend the bill to allow rural counties to opt in to the clean transportation fuel standards.
But Stewart pointed out that many of the rural counties have poor air quality and could benefit from the reduction in emissions from the transportation sector.
Griggs’ amendment also failed.