Gary Rains stands in front of a truck he’s using to deliver drinking water to Las Vegas on Friday from Santa Rosa. The water crisis in Las Vegas prompted city leaders to cancel Las Vegas Day at the Roundhouse (Photo Courtesy Kayt Peck)
Today was supposed to be Las Vegas Day at the Roundhouse, but leaders of the Northern New Mexico town announced Thursday they would have to cancel the hour-long drive south to deal with their ongoing water crisis.
A water main break eight days ago left many residents without water, and those whose taps kept flowing were ordered to boil water before drinking or showering in it. City crews have been scrambling to repair the breaks and deliver potable water to residents for more than a week.
Mayor David Romero has announced some progress and offered apologies to the town of 12,000. Eight days of water shortages caused several businesses to temporarily close and added immense stress to daily life.
The broken main first installed in the 1950s was repaired, but additional leaks have been discovered as the city re-pressurizes the water system, including two new leaks on Friday.
The water crisis is only the latest peril that’s befallen the small town in the last three years. The Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire in 2022 required a mandatory evacuation for city residents, then post-fire flooding that year and last summer contaminated the city’s drinking water reservoirs.
“Las Vegas is a resilient city, and we will get through this together,” the city posted on Facebook on Feb. 16.
The Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office gave the city $98 million in August 2024 to rebuild its water treatment plant, but that money has not yet been spent, Mayor David Romero said in an interview with FYI New Mexico on Thursday.
Las Vegas to get $98 million to replace water treatment facilities after 2022 wildfire damage
He said he’s received numerous complaints wondering where the “FEMA money” went from people angry about the latest crisis. He stressed the new water treatment plant is still being designed, and that the $98 million has not yet been spent. He also said the city will do a review of what caused the leak, and will make the results of the review public.
Last week, as members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation came to the Roundhouse to decry President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s funding cuts, they suggested that the federal government should pick up the tab for Las Vegas’ recent struggles.
“This is a leak, and I would argue it’s directly connected to the fire,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján said at a news conference. “That funding will help to be able to fix this going forward, the emergency that the community is dealing with now. It does need additional support and additional help.”
Friday recap
Also on Friday, groups seeking food bank funding took over the rotunda. Read a Q & A here with The Food Depot Executive Director Jill Dixon.
The group’s priorities include $30 million in the state budget for food banks, preserving New Mexicans’ access to food and health benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and reforming the anti-donation clause so nonprofits can directly access state funds.
After a Senate Joint Resolution that would provide salaries to lawmakers stalled in the Senate Finance Committee this week, a very similar resolution made its way onto the House Floor today. It’s HJR 18, sponsored by Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces) and Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque).
Hunger advocates push for funding, policies at the Roundhouse
“We’re not done pushing for a modern Legislature where our lawmakers can afford to serve their communities and earn a living, too,” said Common Cause spokesperson Mason Graham in a news release.
To go into effect, the resolution would need to clear the House and Senate and then receive approval from a majority of voters in the next general election.
“We’re really hoping we can get through the House really quickly on this one. It may be more favorable in the Senate the second time around,” Graham told Source New Mexico on Friday.
Lawmakers in the Senate Education Committee advanced a proposal to amend the state Constitution to shift oversight of the Public Education Department from a governor-appointed cabinet secretary to a new superintendent of public schools. A bill to enshrine pollution protections for New Mexico waters cleared its third and final committee in the Senate.
Bill Watch
After the deadline to introduce legislation Thursday, the final counts are in: 1,255 pieces of legislation have been introduced.
The House passed five bills Friday. That included a 46-19 vote on Senate Bill 1, which establishes a new $1 billion fund. Proponents say the fund would generate annual money for behavioral health programs in the future, and it’s the second of a three-bill package to pass both chambers. SB 1 now heads to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk. With her signature, the bill becomes law.
The other four bills now head to the upper chamber, they are:
House Bill 157 which creates new licenses for school administrators passed 66-0.
House Bill 81, which would allow New Mexico to enter a multi-state compact to allow licensed occupational therapists in other states to practice in New Mexico, passed unanimously 64-0.
House Bill 56, which would reimburse birthing centers performing low-risk births at the same medicaid rate as hospitals, passed on a 62-1 vote, with Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo) as the lone dissenting vote.
House Bill 77, which requires the Health Care Authority to develop outreach plans for food assistance, passed unanimously in a 62-0 vote.
At 5 p.m. Friday, the Senate was locked in debate for more than two hours regarding House Bill 8, the much-discussed criminal competency bill. Read more about that here. If it passes the Senate, it heads to the governor’s desk.
Weekend preview
Two Senate Committees are scheduled to meet on Saturday.
The Senate Conservation Committee agenda includes Senate Bill 384, which proposes the creation of a watershed district for the Rio Hondo in Ruidoso. Also on the agenda is Senate Bill 391. State regulators say that bill would essentially eliminate civil penalties for air quality violations from oil and gas operators by adding new provisions eliminating penalties if the violation was self-reported or due to a “mishap or mechanical malfunction.”
The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear three bills. Senate Bill 175 would allow certain state funds to be used to expand childcare facilities; Senate Bill 115, which contains 153 local projects for roads, wastewater improvements and more receiving loans smaller than $1 million; and Senate Bill 8, which aims to forgive veterinary loans for large animal veterinarians who practice in New Mexico.
In the House, two bills related to mobile home parks will come before the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee beginning at 8 a.m. One, HB 418, would impose new restrictions on mobile home park landlords, including requiring minimum lease lengths and conditions on rent increases. HB440 would cap the amount rent can increase at mobile home parks.
Also on Saturday, the House Judiciary Committee will hear bills beginning at 10:30 a.m. requiring more disclosure from lobbyists and creating a press shield law.
House Energy, Environment and Natural resources will consider House Bill 137, the Strategic Water Supply, which you can read more about here.
The House will convene for a floor session at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.