Recently, global leaders gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit. It was here that nations, both large and small, made commitments to combat and slow the effects of climate change. It should concern us that many of the proposals and agreements target some of our most critically important industries, including oil and gas, putting jobs, affordable fuels and energy and our economy at risk.

The United States has tried this tactic and it consistently fails. Most recently, President Biden agreed to and implemented sweeping government regulations related to the environment without fully understanding the impacts upon communities in energy states like New Mexico.

Take, for example, the recent ban on oil and natural gas leasing on public lands and in offshore waters. Despite a groundswell of opposition from states who said the ban could cause significant community harm and economic loss, the Department of Interior pressed forward with its leasing moratorium, seemingly without even considering its consequences. 2021 will mark the first year in decades no onshore federal leasing auctions will have occurred across the US.

Federal lands currently compose nearly 35% of New Mexico’s total area, and a federal oil and gas leasing ban would immediately threaten the welfare and future of our state. We would lose critical jobs at a time when the economy is reeling, and our unemployment rate remains one of the highest in the nation. At the same time, ban would eliminate critical tax revenues that pay for schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure, keeping the government from dipping into the pockets of taxpayers.

Fortunately, this hasty decision was overturned in court after 12 states sued the Department of Interior. But it still represents a dangerous trend we see on both sides of the aisle—government representatives putting politics and big government over the best interests of our people—and it is unacceptable.

Moreover, sweeping government policies such as a leasing ban rarely work as intended. Instead, they hamstring businesses and stifle innovation, hurt our middle- and lower-income citizens and communities and always have unintended consequences. And it is important to keep this in mind as we consider ways to address climate change, especially for states like New Mexico.

It should be clear to U.S. officials that working together with energy companies, not actively against, will be the best path to a cleaner, more sustainable future. Already, energy companies are heavily investing in innovative solutions, like carbon capture and storage, to reduce emissions while protecting jobs and revenues and keeping energy costs low. We should continue encouraging this type of collaboration and innovation between government and private industry to effectively balance economic growth with climate goals.

Angelo Artuso is a pro-liberty attorney based in Albuquerque. He is currently representing a group of Los Alamos National Lab Employees In a Federal Lawsuit Over COVID-19 mandates at the Lab on the basis of religious discrimination.

Considering that New Mexico’s Gov. and Legislature seem to adopt whatever the latest leftist California is, it is always important to keep an eye on what happens on the “left coast.”

This article from Forbes gives me hope that New Mexico may not be crazy enough to follow through with the push to “unreliables” like wind and solar.

Apparently in California the idea is to just “deem” natural gas a “zero carbon” fuel and move on. As we noted a few months ago California recently built several new natural gas plants in an effort to shore up the reliability of their electrical grid.

While natural gas is certainly a low-carbon fuel, unlike nuclear it is NOT zero-carbon. But, perhaps this is a sign that when grid reliability and the “green” agenda butt up against each other even the most “progressive” politician will decide to keep the lights on.

On this week’s podcast, Paul and Wally discuss the spread of COVID19 in New Mexico and the high levels of infections occurring in New Mexico. They also discuss the differing media reaction to Florida and states in the Mountain West.

NM Film workers place blame for issues on set w/ out-of-state-leaders. There are also workplace issues with at least this movie. How does this square with New Mexico’s highly-subsidized film industry? 

Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses w/ 100 or more employees officially put forth and immediately gets placed on hold by 5^th district judge. The Administration is still pushing businesses to comply.

Biden gets help from some House Republicans to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Paul and Wally discuss some details on the bill and the poor politics for the GOP.

Gavin Newsome has declared natural gas “zero carbon.” 

In this supplemental interview Paul does a short interview with Zachary Taylor, director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, about the changes the Keller Administration has changed its plastic bag ban. and why they are economically and environmentally harmful.

Throughout the COVID 19 situation New Mexico’s economy has generally lagged behind the rest of the nation. A new report from Wallethub shines some light on the latest data which places New Mexico 48th in terms of its recovery since the start of COVID. Things are not improving much as we dropped to 49th week-to-week.

Here is the story from KRQE. Charts below are directly from Wallethub.

Nobody has fought New Mexico’s wasteful film subsidy program more vociferously and for longer than the Rio Grande Foundation. That said, we were shocked and horrified at the deadly shooting that recently took place on the set of a film outside of Santa Fe.

There are still a lot of details to uncover, but according to a recent Albuquerque Journal article which details some of the issues on-set, there were some serious well-known problems even before the shooting.

“From not getting paid on time – some waited nearly seven weeks for their paychecks – to the day-to-day schedules never finding a routine.” This is of course an industry that gets reimbursed for 25 to 35% of its expenses in New Mexico and yet they can’t pay their workers on time?

“The production refused to pay for hotels for crew members – most of whom drove from nearly an hour away from the set – after working long shifts.” Again, this sounds unsafe and is hard to square with the subsidies given.

“Two ‘Rust’ crew members laid the blame for some of the issues in the production on certain out-of-state leaders.”

Is an industry that fails to pay its workers basic benefits and brings in leadership from out of state (not just talent) really a sensible recipient of massive amounts of New Mexico tax dollars?

On this week’s interview, Paul talks to Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett. Duckett was first elected Mayor of the Four Corners’ largest City in 2018. Mayor Duckett and Paul discuss the economic challenges facing Farmington and how recent trends have led to a “hot” housing market locally AND an improved natural gas industry. They also discuss challenges faced due to the elimination of the region’s two coal-fired power plants. Duckett is a proponent of expanding outdoor recreation in his area of the State.

Imagine my non-surprise when I clicked on the latest national ranking of public school systems (this one from Forbes) and found that New Mexico ranked 51st. Read their comments below and you further grasp the scope of the problem.

So, while we are pleased that voters saw fit to rid Albuquerque Public Schools of three union-backed members (and a few other districts around the State rejected the unions), it is going to take A LOT more reform to move New Mexico schools in the right direction. Specifically, the Legislature in Santa Fe remains in thrall to the unions as does Gov. Lujan Grisham.

To really move New Mexico’s education system forward (along with the rest of the economy) it is going to take multiple electoral cycles like this one in which candidates beholden to the unions and their money are rejected in favor of reformers and choice advocates.

Normally Election Day is the last big political event on the calendar. The defeated lick their wounds and the victors prepare to take office at the start of the New Year. But 2021 is no ordinary year, it is a redistricting year.

That means that (likely) on December 6, the New Mexico Legislature will be meeting to discuss electoral boundaries for Congress, the Legislature, and others bodies. It’s a big job and it can get VERY heated, though with New Mexico Democrats controlling ALL aspects of the process it should be easier (if they don’t overreach by drawing some truly partisan districts).

BUT, we are hearing that some non-redistricting bills could be on the agenda including a bill that failed last session which would mandate “clean” fuels be added to your gasoline. As Rep. Larry Scott writes in this opinion piece, this WILL increase gas prices by at least 17.5 cents per gallon as a starting point.

We’ll be in Santa Fe to fight this and there couldn’t be a worse time for government to FURTHER boost the cost of living.

RGF both assisted in the drafting and signed this letter with regard to the National School Boards Association calling parents “domestic terrorists” for attending and being active at school board meetings. Check it out below by clicking on the image below.

46 lawmakers, school board members, and orgs raise concern over anti-parent rhetoric

While RGF is pleased by Albuquerque voters’ overwhelming rejection of the proposal to build a taxpayer-financed soccer stadium near downtown, we recognized all along that the Team was not going to give up their quest for a new stadium.

Channel 7 KOAT laid out some ideas including potential stadium locations on tribal lands. RGF expects that, given the massive surpluses available to the Legislature and Gov. Lujan Grisham, we could see significant state dollars used to fund a stadium even if Albuquerque voters have rejected the concept.

If you’d like to listen to Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing discuss the 2021 election results (and numerous other issues later on), check out his recent interview with Jim Williams of KLYT 88.3FM on ABQ Connect. Paul is a regular guest on Jim’s show, but he has regular guests on a variety of local issues of interest.

In terms of local election results, it was obviously disappointing to see Mayor Keller who has done such a poor job managing public safety and the homelessness problem win so handily in Albuquerque. But, the taxpayer-financed United Stadium supported by Keller (and opposed by the Rio Grande Foundation) lost 2-1.

In terms of City Council, the West Side saw the ouster of two incumbents in favor of former Councilor Dan Lewis and newcomer Louis Sanchez.

Two other races are heading to a runoff with the requisite early voting and an “election day” of December 7. Those races include conservative leaning candidates Lori Robertson (District 7 in the mid-northeast heights) and Rene Grout (District 9 in the northeast/southeast heights).

APS school board also saw seats shift from union-backed candidates to more reform-minded candidates including Courtney Jackson, Crystal Tapia-Romero, and Danielle Gonzales .

Unfortunately the reform wave did not reach Las Cruces city council and the Foundation’s own Patrick Brenner lost in his bid for school board in Rio Rancho.

Nationally-speaking, Virginia’s governor’s race was won by Republican Glenn Youngkin in large part because of his pro-education reform, anti-CRT stances.

In New Jersey in what could have been an unprecedented upset, the Republican fell just-short.

Overall, it was a good night for conservatives and those that believe parents, not the unions and bureaucrats should control education.

The following map is from MultiState. It shows that New Mexico is one of JUST 5 states in the US with a universal indoor mask mandate (Louisiana has dropped their mask mandate):

As KOAT Channel 7 notes in this news story, despite its mask policy and even high vaccination rates, New Mexico is seeing an uptick in COVID 19 cases and hospitalizations.

Recently RGF raised the question of whether Gov. Lujan Grisham will mandate vaccines for attendees of Lobo/Aggie basketball games as she did for the New Mexico State Fair.

While we DO NOT support such a mandate and we oppose them on principle, it DOES strike us as HIGHLY dubious, especially when New Mexico’s COVID hospitalizations are considered.

As you can see below, New Mexico is seeing an increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations. Back on September 9, 2021, the first weekday of the New Mexico State Fair, New Mexico had 370 COVID hospitalizations. As of Nov. 1, 2021 (the latest date available as of this writing)  New Mexico has 368 hospitalizations. In other words, the COVID situation is as bad now as it was when the Fair began.

The Lobos season starts on November 5. Will COVID cases suddenly drop in New Mexico or will MLG’s hypocrisy towards Fair attendees and participants be on full display? Of course, the Fair is held outside and in large barns. The Pit crowd is very tightly packed.

On the latest Tipping Point New Mexico interview Paul talks to Larry Behrens of Power the Future. Larry and Paul discuss current energy issues in New Mexico and nationally including the rising price of energy across all fuel sources, the unfolding crisis in Europe this winter, MLG’s “net zero” plans, and the problems facing New Mexico and its electrical grid this coming summer when San Juan Generating Station shuts down. Energy issues are always critical, but are truly “top of mind” these days. You don’t want to miss this conversation!

For starters, it is worth clarifying that utilities LIKE many green mandates because they get to ramp up electricity prices for all those “renewables: which means bigger profits for them and their companies.

That said, those energy companies STILL need to provide reliable electricity. So, when the head of Duke Energy, one of America’s largest utility’s says, “Net-Zero emissions can’t be achieved without nuclear power,” it is worth paying attention.

Gov. MLG wants the Democrat-controlled New Mexico Legislature to adopt legislation during the 2022 session to make New Mexico “net zero” CO2 emissions by 2050.  Did she discuss nuclear energy? No, of course not. Instead, thanks to New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act, passed in 2019 at the behest of our Governor, PNM is in the process of abandoning nuclear and will get out of leases it currently has with the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona in 2023 and 2024.

Duke Energy’s CEO further elaborated on the issue, saying, “I want to keep that nuclear fleet operating as long as I possibly can because I don’t have an alternative of a carbon-free resource that runs 95% of the time, which is what nuclear represents today.”

The Rio Grande Foundation has been active in encouraging written testimony from New Mexicans regarding the Public Education Department’s controversial new social studies curriculum (click for more information or to send your own comments). Whether these standards are embedded with “Critical Race Theory” or not is open to debate, but there is no question that numerous CRT “buzzwords” and concepts appear in the new guidelines.

Separately, but at the very same meeting, the PED was supposed to collect comments on a proposal that would make it MUCH more difficult for elected school board members to defend themselves against being replaced by the Secretary (often acting on behalf of their boss, the Gov.). The proposal, if adopted, will force board members to obtain and pay for legal representation themselves (click to comment on THAT proposal), thus making it nearly impossible for them to defend against State overreach.

We have JUST received word that PED has CANCELED the public meeting and will be holding the meeting on Zoom only. Clearly they want to be able to control the meeting which can be done much more easily online. Read the revised notice here including Zoom info:

NOTICE OF CHANGES TO RULE HEARING

The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) gives notice of time and location changes to a public hearing scheduled Friday, November 12, 2021, published in Issue 18 of the New Mexico Register on September 28, 2021.

The PED gives notice that it will conduct a public hearing on Friday, November 12, 2021 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (MDT) via Zoom for

• the proposed repeal of 30.6 NMAC, Suspension of Authority of a Local School Board, Superintendent, or Principal, to be replaced with 6.30.6 NMAC, Suspension of Authority of a Local School Board;
• the proposed new rule 60.11 NMAC, Required Training Program for School District Personnel, School Volunteers, and Contractors; and
• the proposed repeal and replace of 29.11 NMAC, Social Studies.

Zoom Information.

• Link: https://zoom.us/j/95261645812?pwd=ejNMZ2Fyb2xsVWFhT2VTMWRabnRKQT09
• Passcode: Policy2021
• Or One tap mobile:
  • US: +16699006833,,95261645812# or +12532158782,,95261645812# or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799
• Webinar ID: 952 6164 5812
• International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/adcuJ7c7Py

Public Comment.  Interested parties may provide comment at the public hearing or may submit written comments by mail to John Sena, Policy Division, New Mexico Public Education Department, 300 Don Gaspar Avenue, Room 121, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, by electronic mail to rule.feedback@state.nm.us, or by fax to (505) 827-6520.  Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. (MDT) on Friday, November 12, 2021. The PED encourages the early submission of written comments. The public comment period is from Tuesday, September 28, 2021 to Friday, November 12, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. (MDT).

The PED will review all feedback received during the public comment period and issue communication regarding a final decision at a later date.

Copies of the proposed rules may be accessed through the page titled, “Rule Notification,” on the PED’s website at http://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/bureaus/policy-innovation-measurement/rule-notification/, or may be obtained from John Sena at (505) 570-7816 during regular business hours.

Individuals with disabilities who require the above information in an alternative format or need any form of auxiliary aid to attend or participate in the public hearing are asked to contact John Sena at (505) 570-7816 as soon as possible before the date set for the public hearing.  The PED requires at least 10 calendar days advance notice to provide any special accommodations requested.

Sometimes it REALLY is as simple as Economics 101.

NM’s unemployment rate drops but remains 5th highest in the nation.

Top 11 lowest states have GOP Governors, bottom 8 have Democrats.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) admits it funded risky “gain of function” research at Wuhan lab. Biden Administration is using relief money to push schools to keep masks on in schools. 5,000 New Mexicans have now died. 

Heinrich’s effort to ban natural gas appliances is based on faulty study. MLG announces legislation making NM “Net Zero” by 2050 at New Mexico Climate Conference at the Roundhouse. Meanwhile, China is mining and using record amounts of coal.

New Mexico’s Secretary of State endorses MLG.

PED Secretary Steinhaus needs to show us the data on several controversial moves.

As of October 18, 2021, the Spaceport has now been open for a decade. 

Alec Baldwin involved in deadly shooting on movie set in New Mexico. This incident created international news. New Mexico’s film industry is heavily subsidized of course.

New Mexico’s unemployment rate in September remains elevated at 5th-highest in the nation. And, New Mexico continues to exceed all of its neighbors’ rates by a considerable margin.

According to an RGF analysis, each of the bottom 8 states (worst unemployment) has a Democrat governor. Each of the 11 lowest unemployment rate states has a Republican governor. Due to the outsized role of COVID policy in driving unemployment rates and the near total dominance of governors, this is the “current” context behind “red” and “blue” distinctions.

Even in “blue” Albuquerque, devoid as it is of energy production and associated workers, “climate change” lags far behind other important issues in terms of how concerned voters are about them.

As seen below and in today’s Albuquerque Journal, the crime rate more than DOUBLES climate change as an issue voters are ‘very concerned’ about. Homelessness and the low quality of schools in the City are also of far greater concern.

Ironically, of the issues polled only COVID lags climate change as an issue of extreme concern. While it appears that Mayor Keller is going to cruise to victory, it is interesting that Gov. Lujan Grisham has most actively engaged on COVID and climate change. Crime and especially the quality of public schools have not been her priorities. Seems like a roadmap for candidates.

On this week’s podcast conversation, Paul talks to Michael Leach, SIOR. Michael is the Founder and Owner of Sycamore Associates, a commercial real estate firm based in Albuquerque that works primarily in the industrial sector.

Paul and Michael discuss the development of Albuquerque and the relationship between various businesses in the ABQ Metro and how that allows them to serve clients statewide. They also discuss the role public policies play including the permitting process, crime, taxation, and the State’s education system.

This is an informative conversation you won’t want to miss!

The following opinion piece appeared in the Las Cruces Sun News on Sunday, October 24, 2021.

Kurt Steinhaus has been on the job for just a month or so, but he has already put forth policies and ideas regarding New Mexico’s education system that leave us scratching our heads.

We all want our children to do better in school so that they are prepared to be productive workers and informed citizens. That is not an easy task and it is made even more difficult by the pandemic and the government’s reaction to it.

The first question is why PED has chosen not to release standardized testing data that it has from March of 2020 prior to the pandemic. Yes, only 10% of students took the test, but there is still useful information to be gleaned from the 10% that took it. That’s especially true since there will be no data available at all for 2021. We know New Mexico students began the pandemic behind their peers in other states, but New Mexico families and our education leaders deserve to have at least some insights into where things stood right before the pandemic.

More bizarre are comments Steinhaus made in early October at a Legislative Education Study Committee. When asked what New Mexico would need to do to “make New Mexico teacher salaries competitive” he claimed the state would “have to double teacher salaries.”

That is quite simply false. According to the latest data from the National Education Association, New Mexico’s average teacher pay is $54,256 annually (ranked 32nd in the nation). The highest paid teachers on average are found in New York where they make $87,069. Doubling New Mexico teacher salaries would not “make them competitive.” It would make them by far the highest paid in the nation (at nearly $110,000) in a state that has much lower taxes and living costs than does New York and others with high salaries.

Setting aside whether increasing teacher pay is warranted or effective at increasing student performance, there is simply no data backing up the idea that New Mexico should double teacher pay. Perhaps Steinhaus is not familiar with what New Mexico teachers make or past efforts to recruit and offer enhanced pay to high performing teachers.

And then there are the state’s revised social studies standards which clearly were “in progress” during (prior Secretary) Ryan Stewart’s time at PED but were recently released under Steinhaus. Whether you can call the new, much more prescriptive standards “critical race theory” or not is open to question, but there are concerning elements to be found in the new standards.

Throughout the new curriculum there is a focus not simply on geography, human development and historical facts and events and their relevance for us today. If adopted, the curriculum will intently focus on differences, rather than the similarities among various racial and ethnic groups. Talk of inequity (unequal outcome for different groups) will replace equality under the law. The general trend in the new standards is away from presenting the facts and asking students to come to their own conclusions to instead hammering approved beliefs on everything from gun control and “destruction and occupation” of the Americas by the Spaniards into students.

There is currently a public comment period on these standards going on through Nov. 12. Please look at them and submit your own comments today.

Secretary Steinhaus does not have an easy job and we understand that. But, our schools need a focused, data-driven approach to improve student outcomes. If paying teachers more will improve outcomes, let’s see the data. And rather than teaching watered-down CRT, let’s focus on teaching basic historical events and not spinning them to make America look like a hive of inequality and injustice.

Paul J. Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility.