CUPID'S NEWSLETTER B1-B7
Gallup Sun VOL 11 | ISSUE 516
www.gallupsun.com
February 14, 2025
2025 Legislative Session
$500M TRADE PORT PLAN GREEN LIT HB 19 ROLLED INTO TAX BILL
By Molly Ann Howell Managing Editor
ouse Bill 19, which wou ld create trade ports across New Mexico, was absorbed into the 2025 legislative session’s omnibus tax bill that’s slated for approval later in the session.
H
To become a trade During a Feb. 5 news post, an area must have conference, Rep. Patty interstate access, railLundstrom described roads and airports. those trade ports as In a prev ious inter v iew essentially industrial w it h t he S un, Lu nd st rom p a rk s s p e c i f ic a l l y explained why trade por ts designed to facilitate c o u l d b e b e n e f i c i a l fo r Mexico, calling them the distribution and New a n economic development processing of goods. driver. Customs agents, for “We’ve had a lot of trouexa mple, wou ld be ble over the years, and even do today, with supply on-site to process ship- still c h a i n d i s t r i bu t io n ,” s h e ments, she said. said. “We We have to figure out a way in this countr y where we can
unload and distribute cargo com i ng f rom out side t he U.S. qu icker tha n we cu rrently are.” Lundstrom and the other suppor ters of the bill recommend that local government s u se g ro s s receipt s tax to fund the trade ports. The bill proposes that 1% of GRT accumulated over the nex t 10 yea r s pay for t he project s. Lu nd st rom est imated that a mou nt would equa l about $50 0 m i l l ion. The funds would go to local governments to help assist them w ith creating the ports.
T he s t a t e’s E c o no m ic Development Depa r t ment would administer the funds, a nd ha nd out gra nts of no more than $250,000 to publ ic p a r t n e r s . T he pu bl ic p a r t n e r s wo u l d t h e n b e required to study the costs and benefits of entering into a public-private partnership for a proposed trade por t project. GA LLUP’S SLICE OF THE ACTION Lundstrom started working on the trade port bill about two years ago, slowly gaining more support for it from other lawmakers, including
See TRADE PORT PLAN, Page A5
County commissioners voice nominations for open district seat By Sunni Battin Sun Correspondent
T
he New Mex ico House District 6 seat may soon be fi lled as both Cibola and McKinley counties have each submitted one nominee, which covers both counties. The opening came about after Rep. Eliseo ‘Lee’ Alcon resigned in November due to health concerns. He passed away Jan. 13 after a battle with liver cancer. To fi ll the seat, each county commission was tasked with forwarding one nomination to fill the opening. Gov. Michelle L u ja n Gr i sh a m w i l l then appoint one of the nominees. Recently, the McKinley Cou nt y Com m i s sion unanimously selected
Martha Garcia
Clemente Sanchez
M a r t h a Ga rci a . T he Cibola County Board of Commissioners, according to Christine Lowery, county commissioner chair, voted to nominate Clemente Sanchez. Three commissioners voted for the nominee, but it was not a unanimous vote per Lowery. Commissioner Georgia Routzen Sanchez abstained from voting since she is the nominee’s
wife. “I think the primary reason why this group voted for him is he does have experience in the New Mexico Senate,” Lowery said. Of their nominee, McKinley County Manager Anthony Dimas said Garcia brings vast exper ience a nd deep knowledge. “I’ve known Martha
for a lot of years,” he said. “She has a lot of local government experience. She was a commissioner down in Cibola County for eight years. She’s been on the council for the Naval Nation. She’s been on the school board. She has a lot of experience in local government,.” At press time, no timeline for candidate selection is known and it is not clear if both candidates have been interviewed by Lujan Grisham and if a candidate has been selected. But officials and staffers from both counties have indicated that the seat is hopefully filled sooner rather than later. “The governor is not r ushed,” Lowr y sa id. “She wants to do this as soon as possible, but she is taking her time to go over this carefully.”
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