Opinion Editorial
Senator-Elect James Townsend, District 34
The Legislature will convene January 21st at twelve noon, which is the third Tuesday of January as required by law.
I have served in the House of Representatives for ten years and will now begin serving in the Senate as the Legislature convenes this year.
New Mexico is not a poor State. Our tax base has grown each of the last several years by as much as $3.5B each budget cycle. We are awash in money because of the Oil and Gas industry, and it appears we have ample supply for generations to come.
What we have been missing in my opinion, is a plan. We have the ability to decrease taxes for each and every New Mexican, which I believe we should do. However, some are hesitant to reduce taxes for everyone, they prefer to redistribute the wealth by decreasing taxes only in lower tax brackets while raising taxes on others. This is simple thinking and fails to create jobs and opportunities that are desperately needed.
I think everyone reading this would agree, we should eliminate taxes on Social Security, and we should decrease income taxes across the board on every New Mexican. We should curtail frivolous spending and incentivize the deployment of capital for new jobs and brighter futures.
Our education system is a mess. We have been ranked last far too long. We need to deploy creativeness and competitive juices into our education system. We need to allow your tax dollars to follow your child. You should have the right to choose the school your child attends without having to pay additionally.  We already pay enough taxes.  No child should be trapped in a failing education system and our schools have been failing our children too long, that has to stop. Schools that don’t produce educated children are failures and our children deserve better.
Energy is key. In New Mexico we are fortunate to have amazing resources in reserves and technology. We have two national Labs, abundant oil and gas reserves, amazing sun and wind resources and the technology to develop and deploy nuclear technologies. We have the ability to furnish our businesses and families the most cost effective and dependable power to reduce the cost of living for our families while also serving our industries with abundant, cheap, and dependable power. This Energy Transition Act has failed New Mexicans. It has increased the cost of electricity significantly while simultaneously reducing dependability. It has required millions of dollars of new power lines and that will only continue.  Millions of New Mexican tax dollars are being spent funding Industrial Revenue Bonds for power lines that supply residents of California and Arizona. Our citizens deserve the most economical and dependable energy supply we can produce. Thinking a State of two million people is going to lead China away from coal plants is ludicrous.  We need to address the needs of New Mexicans and stop following trendy failures of Europe.
We need to stop the stupidity of Electric Vehicle Mandates. We are Americans.  If you want to buy an electric vehicle, then by all means go buy one. But this process of mandating what type of vehicles are sold is about the dumbest thing I’ve seen us do and it isn’t working and we all know it isn’t going to work. We are just causing our people to buy out of state which ruins businesses in New Mexico. There is a place for electric vehicles and the market will dictate that, we don’t need stupid laws ruining our businesses. New Mexicans understand the needs of their families and politicians need to help families prosper not harm them and this law harms families all across our State. Mandating EV’s in rural areas where the ability of the vehicle doesn’t meet the  needs of the family or their business needs is ridiculous. Then on top of that, mandating EV charging stations where the electrical grid can not support them is pure ignorance. The Construction Industry Board members should be forced to resign and they should be replaced for becoming political pawns. Their job is to protect the public in building code requirements, not imposing the political will of a temperamental Governor who didn’t get her way during the last Legislative session.
The New Mexico Legislature should work to enhance the lives of all New Mexicans. Increasing their opportunities, lowering their cost of living, promoting laws that provide safe communities with better healthcare and the best education system for our children.  I encourage you to watch how your Legislator votes and hold them accountable.