“Most important bill for OSE” dies on the 2025 Senate Calendar

One of the primary focuses of the New Mexico Water Advocates is advocating for critical support staff (capacity) and improved tools (such as modern computing capacity and software) for the Office of State Engineer and the Interstate Stream Commission.  This past legislative session, the NM Water Advocates learned that two bills with the same purpose had been introduced in the House (HB348) and in the Senate (SB210), the main purpose being to raise the penalty for violations of State Water Law*.  The existing penalty is a paltry $100/day, first set in 1907 and not updated since.  Either bill, if passed, would have raised the penalty to $2000/day; for context, $100/day in 1907 is equivalent to over $3,400/day in 2025 dollars.

These two bills each cleared their first committee in the respective chambers in the first month of the 2-month session, but then stalled respectively in House Judiciary and Senate Judiciary, i.e., not being scheduled for a hearing.

The bills were bipartisan, with Republican Senator Jim Townsend joining as a cosponsor on both the SB and HB.  NMWA appealed via email to the chairs of both of the Judiciary committees to schedule the bills; the HJC finally heard the bill on March 14, one week before the session ended and it passed unanimously with a couple of targeted, friendly amendments.   When asked for a couple examples of water rights violations that this bill would help likely reduce, the OSE Chief Counsel cited illegal wells drilled to provide water to the O&G industry and illegal diversions of water to the cannabis industry.  Additionally, there were only voices of support for the bill during the public comment period in HJC.

[aside: SB210 was never scheduled for a hearing in SJC, but that became moot when HB348 moved along quickly near end of session]

It was then passed unanimously on the House Floor two days later, assigned to the Senate Conservation Committee (SCONC), where it passed unanimously the next day, March 18, again with only voices of support from the public.  Recently confirmed State Engineer Liz Anderson stated in the SCONC, “This is the most important bill for the agency (OSE).  We can’t enforce against illegal water use with the current penalties.  We need this (updated penalty) to modernize our administrative structure. “

With three days to spare before practical end of the session, HB348 seemed to have momentum.  It was placed on the Senate calendar.  NM Water Advocates expected the Senate Majority Leader to make sure the bill could get a vote by the full Senate.  However, it unfortunately did not get scheduled for a vote before the session ended on Sat, Mar 22 and therefore the bill failed for another session.  It’s a shame the urgency was apparently not communicated to Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth.

*From the FIR for HB348

OSE notes the maximum penalty for a water law violation was set in 1907 at $100 per day and has not been changed since. Analysis from OSE notes in most enforcement cases, the agency seeks payback of water rather than money. This is typically done through compelling the enforced-on party to reduce future diversions by the quantity of water which was previously over-or illegally taken or diverted. OSE has found this practice is a successful deterrent against future diversions or breakings of water law. The HJC amendment clarifies that OSE may not pursue monetary penalties (in the situations of over diversion of legally held rights, e.g., for farmers and ranchers,) and may only pursue repayment of water for over diversion of water rights.