House Agriculture & Water Resources (HAGC)

For many years, the Agriculture & Water Resources Committee (HAGC) has been dominated by big agricultural interests.  Given the name and scope of the committee, this may not be surprising.  Unfortunately, it seems as if too many committees are stacked in favor of big polluting interests, and there are few committees where broader public and environmental concerns are likely to prevail.

Agriculture plays a huge role in the cultural history of our state, and New Mexicans continue to treasure our locally-grown food and family farms.  Unfortunately, industrial agricultural interests tend to carry more weight in the state policy arena, and the concerns of small farmers are usually trampled in the push to consolidate profits in the hands of fewer and fewer “super”-producers.

It is distressing that state water policy falls in the purview of the same committee that tends to be dominated by big agricultural interests.  The fact that an issue of such great concern to all New Mexicans is so strongly influenced by a committee dominated by a single interest group is a major impediment to proactive, comprehensive and balanced water policy.

However, the trend may be shifting.  Just this year, Representative James Roger Madalena—former Governor of Jemez Pueblo—assumed the Chairmanship of HAGC.  Although the representation on the committee is still heavily oriented towards big agriculture, discussion of legislation this year involved more balanced consideration of interests, albeit with a long way to go.

An example is the Agriculture Protection Act (HB276, Rep. Nuñez), which authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to exempt the agricultural industry from any rule—not just environmental safeguards—that he or she believes would cause “undue burden”, which was not defined in the legislation.  This could have exempted the agricultural sector from food and worker safety standards, as well as water quality protections.  Previously, this measure might have passed HAGC swiftly and with little debate, but the discussion this year was thoughtful.  Although several committee members spoke enthusiastically on the bill’s behalf, respectful concerns were raised by legislators from both political parties.  In the end, the bill did not have the votes to make it out of HAGC.  This is but one example of the changing dynamics of this committee, and it fosters some optimism for the future.

Chair:  Rep. James Roger Madalena
Vice-Chair:  Rep. Ray Begaye