HB 34 New Mexico House · 2025 Regular Session

OIL CONSERVATION PROTECT HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT

HB 34 amends New Mexico's Oil and Gas Act to explicitly require the Oil Conservation Commission and the Oil Conservation Division to protect public health and the environment when implementing oil and gas regulations. The bill updates existing statutory language (Section 70-2-11) to add "protect public health and the environment" as a core duty alongside preventing waste and protecting correlative rights. This change clarifies that environmental and health protections are integral to the agencies' regulatory work under the Oil and Gas Act. The bill was introduced in 2025 but was postponed indefinitely in June 2025, meaning it did not advance to become law. It directly affects oil and gas regulators and operators subject to the state's conservation rules.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 3, 2025 Last action Jun 3, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

introduced version → AA substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended by the House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee, making changes to the title and the operative text of Section 70-2-11. The committee removed references to the 'Oil Conservation Commission' from the title and modified the language to clarify that the Oil Conservation Division must implement the Oil and Gas Act in a way that protects public health and the environment. The committee also adjusted the wording to emphasize the division's authority to make rules and orders necessary to carry out the act's purpose.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed slightly by removing the explicit mention of the Oil Conservation Commission from the title, though the operative text still grants concurrent jurisdiction to both the commission and division.

REQUIREMENT

The title was changed to remove 'Oil Conservation Commission' and instead list 'Oil Conservation Division' first, altering the primary focus of the bill's description.

The language in Section 70-2-11 was reworded to explicitly require the division to implement the Oil and Gas Act in a manner that protects public health and the environment, making this a stated requirement rather than just a general authority.

ENFORCEMENT

The text was adjusted to clarify that the division may make rules, regulations, and orders to carry out the purpose of the Oil and Gas Act, with bracketed deletions indicating the removal of redundant or less precise language.

TECHNICAL

The document header was changed from 'Introduced Version' to 'Committee Substitute,' indicating the bill has been amended by the House committee and is now in a revised form for further consideration.

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

DO NOT PASS, replaced with committee substitute

lower

Jan 22, 2025

Introduced

Sent to House Agriculture, Acequias & Water Resources Committee & House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee

lower

Jan 3, 2025

Introduced

Sent to House Pre-file

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors