This bill, SB 5 cleared the NM House yesterday on a 42-26 mostly partyline vote. Dems in favor. Next step is back to the senate for concurrence. Odds are really high the bill will hit the Governor’s desk. No one knows if she will sign it. I think she will. This bill has been 8 years in the making. This version is by far the best version. Thank god the governor pocket vetoed the 2023 version. The 2023 version would have been much closer to the anti takeover that is plaguing WA and to a lesser but significant extent CO. Our governor, like all before her, has abused her power over the commission to lock down privatization. But she is on the way out the door when the new commission structure would take place. She might just sign it because everyone in NM hates our game commission system. Imagine if we ever had a governor in NM like WA or CO that puts animal rights above hunting? We would be doomed.
I’m actually happy it passed as a long time New Mexican advocate for public and resident hunting. There are two primary reasons for this. First, it is a really good reform of the game commission appointment and removal process. New Mexico’s current commission system has given us the out-of-this-world privatization system we have. The new commission system with a nominating committee that mirrors Arizona is about as good as could be expected.
Second, I think that where New Mexico is politically right now and the trend on things wildlife this was the best time to do a comprehensive reform that does not handover wildlife regulation to anti forces. I think we really dodged a future bullet if this bill is signed by the governor. Reform was coming. We nipped it in the bud before reform would equal a huge de-emphasis on hunting. Every year hunting has been losing ground. But right now hunting is a powerful enough voice in New Mexico to prevent toxic language in a reform bill.
All that said, I went to every senate and house committee meeting except one (3 out of 4) and spoke in opposition to the bill. But my opposition was not about what is in the bill. It was about what was not in the bill. Specifically the greatest wealth based big game tag privatization scheme in any western state was not addressed in any way shape or form. What I unsuccessfully lobbied for (not really lobby because I am not a lobbyist or ever been paid to advocate) was an increase in the nonresident license fees to build a fiscal bridge to selling less nonresident and more resident tags. The NR fees in the bill are well short, $2.3 million in real dollar terms a year, since the last fee increase 20 years ago. But this is not insurmountable because a different bill (HB2 I think) includes $10.5 million over the next three years in general fund GRO money for basically nongame and species of greatest conservation need. As long as the Department can show it spent the new money wisely it will become permanent general fund funding. The department I’m sure will be able to show wise use of the money. NM also created a trust fund in 2023 that generates $2.7 million dollars a year (and growing) for species of greatest conservation need. Freeing up more than enough of our hunting license revenue for a reset of New Mexico’s big game allocation system that favors rich nonresident hunters over middle class residents and nonresidents.
With SB 5 and the new revenue and new commission structure us New Mexican public big game tag advocates will have at least a chance of increasing the share of both resident and nonresident public big game tags. Status quo has meant no chance.
Still, I’m in the process of helping to create a fund to sue the living shit out of the State of New Mexico to get our big game tags back in the public domain where they belong. For both residents and nonresidents.
I’m actually happy it passed as a long time New Mexican advocate for public and resident hunting. There are two primary reasons for this. First, it is a really good reform of the game commission appointment and removal process. New Mexico’s current commission system has given us the out-of-this-world privatization system we have. The new commission system with a nominating committee that mirrors Arizona is about as good as could be expected.
Second, I think that where New Mexico is politically right now and the trend on things wildlife this was the best time to do a comprehensive reform that does not handover wildlife regulation to anti forces. I think we really dodged a future bullet if this bill is signed by the governor. Reform was coming. We nipped it in the bud before reform would equal a huge de-emphasis on hunting. Every year hunting has been losing ground. But right now hunting is a powerful enough voice in New Mexico to prevent toxic language in a reform bill.
All that said, I went to every senate and house committee meeting except one (3 out of 4) and spoke in opposition to the bill. But my opposition was not about what is in the bill. It was about what was not in the bill. Specifically the greatest wealth based big game tag privatization scheme in any western state was not addressed in any way shape or form. What I unsuccessfully lobbied for (not really lobby because I am not a lobbyist or ever been paid to advocate) was an increase in the nonresident license fees to build a fiscal bridge to selling less nonresident and more resident tags. The NR fees in the bill are well short, $2.3 million in real dollar terms a year, since the last fee increase 20 years ago. But this is not insurmountable because a different bill (HB2 I think) includes $10.5 million over the next three years in general fund GRO money for basically nongame and species of greatest conservation need. As long as the Department can show it spent the new money wisely it will become permanent general fund funding. The department I’m sure will be able to show wise use of the money. NM also created a trust fund in 2023 that generates $2.7 million dollars a year (and growing) for species of greatest conservation need. Freeing up more than enough of our hunting license revenue for a reset of New Mexico’s big game allocation system that favors rich nonresident hunters over middle class residents and nonresidents.
With SB 5 and the new revenue and new commission structure us New Mexican public big game tag advocates will have at least a chance of increasing the share of both resident and nonresident public big game tags. Status quo has meant no chance.
Still, I’m in the process of helping to create a fund to sue the living shit out of the State of New Mexico to get our big game tags back in the public domain where they belong. For both residents and nonresidents.
