CVNM News:SANTA FE ― Today, Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) released its statewide Conservation Scorecard for the 2017 legislative session.
In the Scorecard, CVNM reports the votes cast on the most critical issues affecting our air, land, water, health and communities during the 2017 regular legislative session.
The average conservation score earned in the Senate in the 2017 Scorecard is 68 percent. The average conservation score earned in the House of Representatives in the 2017 Scorecard is 67 percent. An improvement of 12 percent in the Senate and 22 percent in the House. We are happy to report that the people Conservation Voters New Mexico Action Fund endorsed delivered exceptional results in the 2017 session, thanks in part to the strong pro-conservation leadership from Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth and Speaker Brian Egolf.
“We were excited to see the extremely strong performance of so many new and returning members of the legislature in 2017. The knowledge, values and leadership are all in place to pass strong conservation legislation through both houses of the legislature,” says Ben Shelton, political and legislative director at Conservation Voters New Mexico. “The onus falls on Governor Susana Martinez to work with pro-conservation leadership in the legislature to begin to repair her legacy in her last year in office.”
The 2017 Scorecard includes votes on 29 Senate and 26 House pieces of legislation on critical issues that New Mexico’s decision-makers faced in the 2017 legislative session. This legislation touched on a wide variety of important environmental and conservation topics including a nation-leading Renewable Energy Standard, banning coyote killing contests, wildlife trafficking, and efforts to transfer federal public lands to the state.
The northern New Mexico delegation continues to shine, thanks in no small part to legislators like:
- Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard (93 percent);
- Rep. Brian Egolf (100 percent);
- Sen. Peter Wirth (100 percent); and
- Sen. Liz Stefanics (100 percent).
Joining them are exciting newcomers:
- Rep. Derrick Lente (95 percent); and
- Rep. Linda Trujillo (100 percent).
The future looks exceptionally bright for Northern New Mexico’s representation in the State Capitol.
Our 2017 Scorecard offers insight into the records of each of our state legislators. In addition, you will find detailed descriptions of each piece of legislation CVNM scored along with the pro-conservation vote (yay or nay.)
CVNM Political and Legislative Director Ben Shelton is available to discuss the 2017 Scorecard in more depth and answer any questions you may have about legislation or the process by which the scores are calculated.
