BY BARBARA CALEF
2nd Vice-President
League of Women Voter New Mexico

The League of Women Voters of New Mexico opposes HB4, the Hydrogen Hub Act.  The bill was tabled in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee today and should not be brought back.

The bill is described as “relating to economic development.”  However, we cannot afford to subsidize potential economic development by creating increased greenhouse gas emissions. 

Hydrogen produced from natural gas is not “clean” because the upstream methane emissions will be considerable.  The carbon dioxide sequestration on which this bill depends has not been demonstrated on a large scale.  The bill will perpetuate our reliance on fossil fuels. 

We are concerned about the budget and tax implications of the bill. According to the Fiscal Impact Report, “This bill may be counter to the LFC (Legislative Finance Committee) tax policy principle of adequacy, efficiency, and equity. Due to the increasing cost of tax expenditures, revenues may be insufficient to cover growing recurring appropriations.”