Wildfire Bills: A Hot Topic
By Vince Martinez, Interim CEO
The severity of the Hermit Peaks/Calf Canyon fire and, recently, the Ruidoso wildfire has devastated rural New Mexicans’ lives. The destruction of homes, businesses, ranches, farms, and recreational areas has illustrated the need for action by our elected officials.
Cooperatives face skyrocketing insurance premiums with reduced coverage limits and excessive lawsuits. To address these issues in this year’s sixty-day session, several bills have been introduced, including SB-281/HB-334, the Rural Electric Cooperative Wildfire Protection Act.
This legislation is sponsored by Senator Pat Woods and Representative Meredith Dixon and would place a liability cap on an electric cooperative’s liability, provided the Cooperative is not negligent and has performed its vegetation and wildfire mitigation efforts. This legislation faces an uphill fight with opposition from the insurance industry and trial lawyers.
SB-31, sponsored by Senator Campos, would provide no-interest loans to local entities and rural electric cooperatives that have been affected by natural disasters. These loans would allow the entity to begin recovering while awaiting FEMA reimbursement for the loans taken. Senator Campos has also introduced SB-469 for the removal of fire hazard trees.
SB-33 (Senator Stefanics) and SM-2 (Senator Woods) create Task Forces or Working Groups to study the causes and effects of wildfires to coordinate all aspects of government, utilities, and other entities to ensure wildfire mitigation.
As the severity of wildfires grows due to environmental and forest management issues, your Rural Cooperatives will continue to improve our vegetation management and wildfire mitigation efforts. We will also continue to work with the legislature to protect our Cooperatives and their member-owners.
Once again, I invite you to visit your lawmakers while they are in Santa Fe, and I also invite you to stop by and visit your Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
You can track and read bills, follow committee activities and keep abreast of the daily calendar at the legislature’s website: www.nmlegis.gov.