After voting two weeks ago to bring the bill back to life, Rep. Joni Gutierrez, D-Las Cruces, voted with fellow Democrats today to permanently table a bill that would give an $85-million tax break for the Desert Rock coal plant on the Navajo Nation.
The proposal is still alive in the Senate, but the Senate Finance Committee has yet to schedule a hearing on Senate Bill 431, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano,
The vote on House Bill 178, sponsored by Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Farmington and the minority leader, was 7-6 in favor of shelving the bill in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier today. Gutierrez and the committee’s other Democrats, including Jeff Steinborn and Antonio Lujan of Las Cruces, voted to shelve the bill for the remainder of the session, while the committee’s Republicans all voted against the motion to table.
Rep. Thomas Garcia, D-Ocate, missed the vote.
Gutierrez voted on Jan. 29 along with other Democrats to table the bill, but on Feb. 16 made a motion to reconsider it and voted with Republicans to bring the bill back to life. She refused to comment on why she did that, and environmental groups pressured her to vote against the tax break.
The tax credit is controversial because the plant will send an estimated 10.5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year. It’s going to be built by Sithe Global Power of Houston, in partnership with the Navajo Nation.
Gov. Bill Richardson has a goal of reducing such emissions throughout the state by 11 million tons each year. Though he says he is concerned with the plant’s impact on his emission reduction goals, he has declined to take a position on the tax break proposal.