“For New Mexicans, clean car and charging tax credits are continuing in full force and New Mexico’s commitment to providing both economic opportunities and a clean, healthy environment remain in place,” state Environment Department spokesperson Jorge Armando Estrada wrote in an email to The New Mexican.
The measures, which passed the Senate on May 22 and the U.S. House a few weeks earlier, will have ripple effects to other states, like New Mexico, that have adopted similar standards to those in California. With mostly Republican support but with a handful of Democrats crossing the aisle, federal lawmakers voted to overturn a series of waivers given to California which allowed the state to adopt stricter environmental standards than the federal government’s and allowed for the adoption of regulations to phase in more and more clean vehicles.
California’s regulation mandated that no new gas-powered cars be sold in the state by 2035. Because several other Democratic-run states, including New Mexico, adopted standards based on California’s, the waivers acted as a Jenga block: Pull it out, and the whole tower built on top of it can fall.
President Donald Trump has said he supports rolling back the electric vehicle mandate. Estrada called the congressional vote one example of several “damaging and destabilizing actions” taken on the federal level that impact the adoption of lower-emission vehicles.
“New Mexico commits to continuing to collaborate on solutions that tackle vehicle pollution and make cleaner vehicles more affordable and accessible through its participation in the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition,” Estrada wrote.
California isn’t giving up its waivers without a fight. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the votes “illegal” and announced the state would be filing a lawsuit in response. The U.S. Senate’s actions, Newsom said, overturned decades of precedent allowing California to set stricter pollution standards.
And they have friends in the fight, including New Mexico. The state joined a new coalition of almost a dozen states, known as the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition, that aims to continue efforts to transition to lower-emission vehicles and “preserve states’ Clean Air Act authority” to address vehicle emissions.
Even if electric vehicle proponents lose in court, there are still other measures in effect in New Mexico to encourage moving away from gas-powered cars. The state’s Clean Car Tax Credit offers up to $3,000 for residents buying certain electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell vehicles, which are electric cars powered by chemical reaction. The Public Service Company of New Mexico also announced it is launching another $4,000 incentive for income-qualified customers later this year, in addition to its existing rebate program for charging ports.
The votes to overturn California’s waivers also does not impact a recent proposal by the New Mexico Environment Department to establish a clean fuels standard. The program, which creates a system of credit and debits — exceed state standards, and be required to buy credits, fall below and earn credits — is authorized under a different state law passed in 2024.
“Although complementary for reduction of vehicle emissions, the clean fuels program operates independently from the program targeted by the U.S. House and Senate vote,” Estrada wrote.
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