RGF takes on the EIB: a recap and next steps

11.17.2023

When we found out last July that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham planned to follow California’s lead by strictly limiting New Mexicans’ choice in vehicles, we knew that pushing back against this regulation is what RGF was made for.

We are NOT an industry group. We made our decision to act because the ability to purchase the vehicle of your choice is fundamental to both personal and economic freedom. We aren’t “in the pocket” of car companies or car dealers.

So, we launched KeepYourCarsNM.com, which enabled individuals to send their detailed comments to the EIB in opposition to the Gov.’s proposed regs.

Both RGF’s Paul Gessing and Marina Herrera gave testimony on two separate occasions in person to the EIB.

Last night during public comment, the Rio Grande Foundation hand-delivered 7 boxes of 2,505 letters of opposition to the Gas Car Ban (one box for each member of the EIB). And that was just the number of letters we had two days before the public hearing to make sure we could get everything printed in time!

That’s right, we delivered 17,535 sheets of paper to the EIB at their Wednesday, November 15 meeting.

Since then, over 1,000 additional individuals have told the EIB to say “NO” to the Gas Car Ban. Yes, 3,517 individuals sent in their opposition via KeepYourCarsNM.com.

Unlike emails sent in to the EIB from numerous environmental groups, we gathered signatures from individuals in nearly every demographic and community in New Mexico. This includes:

  • The Pueblos
  • The Navajo Nation
  • Nuevomexicanos, Hispanos, and Chicanos
  • Individuals from every single House District in the state.

In addition, RGF published an opinion editorial in the Albuquerque Journal and numerous other newspapers statewide, our messaging in opposition to mandates (not EV’s themselves) was picked up in numerous radio and TV stories, and we generally carried out a campaign unlike anything seen before in New Mexico.

While the EIB is still deliberating on whether or not they’re going to strip you of your freedom to choose a vehicle, the Rio Grande Foundation stands at the ready to challenge these absurdly bad policies.