>>Gene: OF COURSE, HERE IN NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES  ARE ALSO A PRIORITY.

AHEAD OF THE SESSION, WE  WANTED TO FIND OUT WHAT'S UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR  LAWMAKERS, SO WE CAUGHT UP WITH SENATE MAJORITY LEADER  PETER WIRTH.

HE'S A LONG-TIME LEGISLATOR,  OF COURSE, FROM SANTA FE WHO'S ALSO BEEN AN ADVOCATE  FOR ACTION ON THE ENVIRONMENT, ESPECIALLY  WATER, FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES.

IN AN INTERVIEW YOU'LL ONLY SEE ON NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS,  OUR LAND'S LAURA PASKUS ASKS SENATOR WIRTH WHAT WATER,  ENERGY, OR CLIMATE BILLS MIGHT MAKE IT THROUGH THE  LEGISLATURE THIS YEAR.

>> Laura: SENATOR WIRTH, IT  IS SO NICE TO SEE YOU IN PERSON.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

>> Sen. Wirth: IT'S GOOD TO  BE HERE IN PERSON.

IT'S NICE TO BE COMING OUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS, FOR  SURE.

>> Laura: YEAH.

SO LEGISLATIVE SESSION THIS YEAR, WHEN IT COMES TO THE  ENVIRONMENT, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BILLS AND PRIORITIES  THAT YOU'RE BRINGING TO THE SESSION THAT YOU SEE  POTENTIALLY MOVING THROUGH?

>> Sen. Wirth: WELL, I'M  EXCITED BECAUSE, AGAIN, AS I SAID IN THE PAPER, IT FEELS  LIKE THE STARS HAVE ALIGNED IN TERMS OF COMING OUT OF  THIS ELECTION CYCLE AND HAVING A HOUSE THAT'S REALLY  WILLING TO LOOK AT WATER AND CLIMATE AND LAND  CONSERVATION, AND OF COURSE A GOVERNOR WHO IS A  CHAMPION.

AND SO IT'S A SUPER EXCITING  TIME.

THERE'S A WHOLE RANGE OF  BILLS THAT ARE IN PLAY.

ON THE WATER FRONT, I'M  REALLY GOING TO PUSH TO KEEP WATER FRONT AND CENTER.

WITH ALL THE OTHER THINGS GOING ON, IT SOMETIMES GETS  PUSHED BACK.

WE KIND OF DO THE PENDULUM.

OH, IT'S BEEN RAINING, OR WE HAD A GOOD SNOWPACK, SO  WE'RE NOT GOING TO FOCUS.

BUT THAT IS JUST KIND OF  PRIORITY NUMBER ONE HERE FOR OUR STATE MOVING FORWARD.

THE TEXAS v. NEW MEXICO SETTLEMENT, KIND OF LOOKS  LIKE THAT'S MOVING FORWARD.

THAT'S A GOOD THING.

A BIG BILL THAT I'M GOING TO WORK ON WITH REPRESENTATIVE  SUSAN HERRERA FROM UP NORTH AND SENATOR STEFANICS IS ONE  THAT DEALS WITH REGIONALIZATION.

CLIMATE CHANGE, DROUGHT, THE FIRES.

WE HAVE ALL THESE WATER SYSTEMS ACROSS OUR STATE  THAT ARE CRITICAL, THE DRINKING WATER FOR  COMMUNITIES, MANY CREATED IN THE SIXTIES UNDER THE  SANITARY PROJECTS ACT.

OFTENTIMES THEY'RE AS SMALL  AS 20 OR 25 PEOPLE.

AND WHAT'S HAPPENED IS THE  INFRASTRUCTURE IS OUTDATED.

WITH THE FIRES, OF COURSE,  THE INFRASTRUCTURE ALL NEEDS TO BE REBUILT.

AND THERE'S HUGE ECONOMIES OF SCALE WHEN YOU DO THINGS  ON A REGIONAL BASIS.

SO THIS BILL WILL NOT BE A  MANDATE.

THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT.

YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL -- WHEN IT COMES TO WATER, I  LEARNED VERY QUICKLY THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL  PEOPLE THEY HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

BUT IF A NUMBER OF THESE SYSTEMS WANT TO COME  TOGETHER AND REGIONALIZE, WHICH MAKES SENSE FOR  ECONOMIES OF SCALE -- ONE LAWYER, ONE ENGINEER, ONE  ACCOUNTANT -- THIS WILL GIVE THEM A TEMPLATE TO DO IT SO  THEY DON'T HAVE TO COME TO THE LEGISLATURE AND GET A  SEPARATE BILL.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN  AROUND FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND WE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN  ABLE TO GET IT PASSED.

I REALLY THINK THIS YEAR  THESE SYSTEMS ARE COMING TO US NOW AND SAYING, HEY, WE  NEED NEW INFRASTRUCTURE.

MANY OF THE BOARDS ARE THE  SAME FOLKS THAT WERE THERE IN THE SIXTIES WHEN THEY  WERE CREATED THAT ARE STILL DOING THIS, SO THAT'S GOING  TO BE A BIG PRIORITY OF MINE.

I'M ALSO CARRYING TWO OTHER WATER BILLS.

ONE IS TO RESTRUCTURE THE INTERSTATE STREAM  COMMISSION, ANOTHER ONE I'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO FOR QUITE  SOME TIME.

WE CHANGED THE INTERSTATE STREAM COMMISSION SO IT NOT  ONLY DEALS WITH COMPACT COMPLIANCE, BUT I THINK IN  2003 ADDED WATER PLANNING AND ALL THOSE OTHER KIND OF  POLICY SIDES OF WATER, YET WE'VE GOT A BOARD THAT ALL  COMES FROM A CERTAIN TYPE OF FOLKS.

AND SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO KIND OF SPREAD THE  BACKGROUNDS OF THE BOARD MEMBERS SO THAT IT MORE  ACCURATELY REFLECTS KIND OF NEW MEXICO AS A WHOLE AND  CAN MAKE THOSE POLICY DECISIONS.

SO THAT WILL BE BACK.

AND THEN IT'S A BIG MONEY  YEAR, AND I'VE GOT A BILL TO PUT $250 MILLION INTO THE  WATER PERMANENT FUND, THE WATER TRUST PERMANENT FUND,  WHICH CURRENTLY IS USED TO FUND -- 4% OF THAT GOES TO  WATER TRUST BOARD PROJECTS, BUT IT'S GOT ENABLING  LANGUAGE THAT ALLOWS THE LEGISLATURE TO BE ABLE TO  ACCESS THAT FOR OTHER WATER NEEDS, AND IT JUST SEEMS TO  ME THAT WITH ALL THIS MONEY, PARKING NONRECURRING MONEY  INTO BUCKETS, WHICH YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A LOT ABOUT  DURING THIS SESSION, WATER NEEDS TO BE IN THE MIX ON  THAT.

SO BIG PRIORITY ON WATER  BILLS UP FRONT.

>> Laura: SO WE KNOW WE'VE  GOT A BIG BUDGET THIS YEAR, BUT THAT BIG BUDGET IS TIED  TO SOMETHING THAT EXACERBATES ALL OF OUR  CLIMATE CHALLENGES.

IS THIS A YEAR THAT WE MIGHT  SEE ANY MOVEMENT TOWARD ANYTHING LIKE  DIVERSIFICATION OF THE ECONOMY, OR ANYTHING LIKE  THAT?

>> Sen. Wirth: SO YES, YES,  AND YES.

I MEAN, IT'S QUITE  EXTRAORDINARY.

THE OIL AND GAS PLAY  HAPPENING IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO, I DON'T THINK  EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS.

IT REALLY IS -- IT'S THE  NUMBER ONE PLAY IN THE WORLD, IS WHAT I'M BEING  TOLD.

AND YOU KNOW, YES, WE'VE GOT  ALL THAT MONEY AS A RESULT OF THAT, BUT THIS IS THE  TENSION THAT EXISTS AS WE TRANSITION AWAY FROM WHAT  WILL NOT BE HERE FOREVER, FOR SURE.

SO DIVERSIFICATION IS KEY, AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE KEY  MOVING FORWARD ON THAT LINE.

AND THEN I ALSO THINK WHEN  IT COMES TO CLIMATE AND CARBON, I THINK WE SHOULD  PUT INTO LAW THE GOVERNOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON CARBON  AND GREENHOUSE GASES.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS  INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE NATHAN SMALL LAST YEAR IN  THE HOUSE.

KIND OF GOT TIED TOGETHER  WITH THE WHOLE HYDROGEN DEBATE.

SO YOU KNOW WE'VE GOT, INSTEAD OF JUST 30 DAYS,  WE'VE GOT 60 DAYS, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A SHORT PERIOD  OF TIME, BUT CERTAINLY BETTER THAN 30.

SO I THINK CLIMATE HAS TO REMAIN KIND OF IN THE  DISCUSSION, IN THE MIX.

>> Laura: ARE WE GOING TO  SEE ANYTHING ON HYDROGEN  THIS SESSION?

>> Sen. Wirth: ACTUALLY, AS  WE SIT HERE DOING THIS DISCUSSION, THE LFC IS  LISTENING TO REPRESENTATIVE LUNDSTROM, WHO AGAIN IS  GOING TO PUSH A HYDROGEN BILL.

THE BIG QUESTION IS, WHAT TYPE OF HYDROGEN IT IS.

AND SO, AGAIN, I THINK HYDROGEN THAT'S BASED ON  NATURAL GAS KIND OF KEEPS US IN THE WHOLE NATURAL GAS  MENTALITY AND FRAMEWORK.

THAT CAUSES ME CONCERN.

THERE ARE CLEAN HYDROGEN ALTERNATIVES, AND IT'S A  DISCUSSION WORTH HAVING.

SO THAT, YES, IS GOING TO BE  BACK, SO WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT FOR  SURE.

>> Laura: SO YOU AND I HAVE  HAD CONVERSATIONS FOR YEARS THROUGH MULTIPLE GOVERNORS  AND ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT POLITICAL SITUATIONS, AND  I'M CURIOUS, LIKE, WHY GIVEN HOW IMPORTANT THINGS LIKE  WATER AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND WILDFIRES ARE, WHY DO YOU  THINK THAT ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES SEEM TO SO RARELY  RISE TO THE TOP OF LEGISLATORS' AGENDAS?

>> Sen. Wirth: YEAH, IT'S FUNNY, I THOUGHT COMING DOWN  TO THE INTERVIEW, I REMEMBER THE WHOLE BATTLE OVER THE  GILA, AND AGAIN, WHEN I CARRY A BILL THAT JUST  SIMPLY SAYS, LET'S SPEND THE MONEY ON ALL THE DIFFERENT  CONSERVATION MEASURES INSTEAD OF DOING A  DIVERSION, I MEAN, MY GOODNESS, THAT WAS 2014, I  THINK, AND IT WAS A BATTLE ROYALE, WHICH I LOST.

SO IT'S TRUE, I THINK THE CURRENT MAKEUP OF THE  LEGISLATURE REFLECTS WHERE PEOPLE ARE, AND I THINK IT'S  REALLY IMPORTANT -- ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES,  AND I AM THRILLED TO BE IN A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE A SENATE  CONSERVATION COMMITTEE, I CHAIRED THAT AT ONE POINT,  SENATOR LIZ STEFANICS CHAIRS IT NOW, WHERE THERE REALLY  IS A PRIORITY OF MOVING BILLS THROUGH, VERSUS WHEN I  SHOWED UP IN 2009, I REMEMBER CARRYING A BILL FOR  GOVERNOR RICHARDSON ON OIL AND GAS FEES AND FINES THAT  HADN'T BEEN CHANGED SINCE 1934, AND I GOT ONE VOTE.

SO IT REFLECTS -- YOU KNOW,  THE LEGISLATURE REALLY REFLECTS WHERE PEOPLE ARE,  AND RIGHT NOW, AS I KIND OF -- WE'RE IN A PLACE WHERE  THE STARS HAVE ALIGNED.

AND IT'S A DARN GOOD THING  THEY HAVE, BECAUSE I JUST THINK THAT WE HAVE TO BE  PROACTIVE AND LOOK WITH FORESIGHT INTO THESE ISSUES  AND NOT JUST REACT, AND THAT'S A HARD THING TO DO.

AND SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT, AND WE'RE GOING TO  HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.

>> Laura: WELL, YOU HAVE  BEEN SUCH A STEADFAST ADVOCATE FOR WATER PLANNING,  FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT HAPPENS THIS YEAR.

>> Sen. Wirth: I'M EXCITED.

IT'S GOING TO BE A GOOD  SESSION.

>> Laura: THANK YOU.