On Monday, January 10th, the Dona Ana County Legislative Coalition (DACLC) briefed Dona Ana County legislators on the Coalition’s 2011 legislative priorities. The event, sponsored by El Paso Electric (EPE), was held at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces. Garrey Carruthers, Dean of the NMSU College of Business and former New Mexico Governor, moderated the briefing.
Photo courtesy of Fred Shepherd
Bill Connor (pictured right), Chair of the DACLC, began the briefing with background on the Coalition. The Coalition was formed in the fall of 2007 to identify and promote significant legislative initiatives to benefit Las Cruces and the surrounding communities’ economic and developmental needs. Members include: City of Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces Public Schools, Gadsden Independent School District, Hatch Valley Public Schools, The Bridge of Southern New Mexico, Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, and the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA).
Connor discussed three legislative appropriations requests which include: $850,000 for planning of a new Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority facility; $2,100,000 for construction of a Crisis Triage Center; and $6,000,000 for access roads and infrastructure for new Las Cruces schools under construction on the East Mesa.
The DACLC economic development priorities include the support of existing incentives, support of funding for the New Mexico Partnership, passage of the Locomotive Diesel Refuel Tax Exemption, creation of an overweight border commercial zone, and creation of a permanent Border Infrastructure Fund. The passage of the Locomotive Diesel Refuel Tax Exemption is critical for the announced expansion by Union Pacific in the Santa Teresa area.
The Coalition’s presentation included a number of legislative actions for education restructuring and policy changes. They included: reducing bureaucracy in the public and higher education departments; more efficient reimbursements to the public schools systems; reassessing tuition credit funding formulas; and support of expansion of dual credit courses.
In the final presentation, Clay Doyle, Vice President of New Mexico Affairs for El Paso Electric, discussed the forecasts of future electricity usage in the region. He noted that during the next 5-7 years the company will invest approximately $600 million in new generation and between 2015 and 2020, EPE will need to add 150-175MW of generation annually.
In his closing remarks, Carruthers reminded the audience of the upcoming Las Cruces Day in Santa Fe, which is hosted each year by the Chamber’s Conquistadores. This year’s event will be held January 29-31st at the La Fonda Hotel on the Plaza.
