Issues

Democrats believe in state and federal investment in public infrastructure and transportation to improve our state’s economic competitiveness, create jobs, fulfill climate targets, and achieve equitable and safe communities. We also believe everyone should have clean affordable water, electricity, heat, and high-speed internet.

We Affirm

1. New Mexico’s roads are ranked as the third worst nationally by the American Society of Civil Engineers costing the average New Mexican $769 in additional vehicle repairs. Fully 25% of students in New Mexico do not have access to broadband at home; this is drastically worse in rural communities. Native Americans in New Mexico are 67 times more likely to live without running water than other Americans; and

2. That New Mexicans suffer disproportionately from a lack of regional transmission network for renewable energy; and

3. Native, rural/frontier communities, and underserved communities throughout the state, including urban communities, lack adequate infrastructure. Government has a role in providing all our communities with affordable housing, affordable and reliable essential utilities, including electricity, clean water, sewage, heat, high-speed internet, and transportation; and

4. Good-paying jobs from infrastructure projects can lift families out of poverty; and

5. The practice of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) uses a disproportionate amount of water relative to all other industry and domestic uses; therefore, water availability and infrastructure must be prioritized for human use over fracking use; and

6. It is essential to improve broadband and infrastructure for rural/frontier and tribal communities and ensure parity and predictability in the distribution of funds so that telecommunications companies have the ability to serve those areas equitably; and

7. Infrastructure development must coincide with climate-protection goals; and

8. Infrastructure development must be resilient and minimize resources used and environmental impacts; and

9. Infrastructure development and the ensuing benefits must be accessible to all people, including those with disabilities; and

10. Clean, running water must be available to all New Mexicans for health and sanitation; and

11. Broadband infrastructure must be adequate to support telehealth, remote learning, and other services needed by communities, especially during public health or safety emergencies, such as COVID-19 and future pandemics.

We Will

1. Support the formation of a National Infrastructure Bank modeled on the four previous nationally chartered public banks. This would require no new federal debt, no new taxes, and would be budget neutral, operating as a government-owned, depository bank that lends to state and local governments for targeted infrastructure projects at low rates; and

2. Demand that New Mexicans, in part through training, have the ability to access a fair share of National Infrastructure Bank, Inflation Reduction Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act funding for jobs created in the U.S., many of which will pay Davis-Bacon Determination wages, promote Project Labor Agreements, encourage buying American-made products, and develop apprentice programs for youth to acquire long-term skills; and

3. Demand the reduction of income inequality by increasing wages, building the middle class, and investing in disadvantaged communities and lower-income areas; and

4. Demand that New Mexicans and particularly those most impacted in affected communities receive hiring preference and opportunity to restore roads and bridges to address decades of neglect; and

5. Demand the expansion of infrastructure for affordable public transportation, electric vehicles, and bicycle routes; and

6. Support the transition away from funding road maintenance using the gasoline tax, given our goal to transition to electric vehicles; and

7. Demand that local infrastructure be expanded now so that affordable high-speed broadband networks are an immediate reality for urban, rural, frontier, and other unincorporated New Mexican communities so that they can meet all broadband needs related to health care, education, and employment; and

8. Support the modernization of all public buildings, while maintaining historical preservation, at all levels of government, to be energy efficient and powered by renewable energy; and

9. Demand the development of a statewide plan for land use and infrastructure growth to secure the necessary public funding, through sources such as a public bank, to implement this plan; and

10. Protect communities from the impact of climate change and help them to mitigate its effects by incentivizing renewable energy utilities; and

11. Encourage the reduction of residential and industrial water usage by providing sustainable water policies, including aquifer protection, water-supply planning, consumptive water-use permitting, shortage-sharing, and resource protection programs; and

12. Protect our water supply by demanding the cleanup of toxic substances in aquifers around New Mexico by those who are responsible for the pollution; and

13. Protect public health and safety by modernizing drinking and nonindustrial wastewater systems, including technology to recycle water; and

14. Provide necessary infrastructure, roads, and access to water to officially recognized colonias and other unincorporated areas; and

15. Fully fund the New Mexico Tribal Infrastructure Fund (TIF) to include water-line projects, fire stations, and other community development projects on Indigenous lands, including funding for Enhanced 911 Service/Rural addressing and signage; and

16. Ensure that infrastructure is consistent with developing forms of transportation, such as safe roads for electric bicycles; and

17. Develop a robust public transportation system, with a focus on Railrunner and other conventional rail and high-speed rail, that serves all communities, including rural ones; and

18. Increase equitable access to mobility by:

    • Reducing the need for vehicle ownership, e.g., by developing public transportation; and

    • Enabling more people to live closer to where they need to be, such as through the development of housing with easy access to goods and services and economic opportunities; and

    • Increasing the stock and availability of such location-efficient affordable housing; and

    • Increasing the convenience and affordability of public transit or other shared modes of travel; and

    • Prioritizing mobility access improvements for underserved communities.

19. Increase energy efficiency and make transportation more affordable by:

    • Reducing vehicle energy consumption and/or increasing vehicle fuel efficiency; and

    • Increasing access to and use of cheaper and more efficient fuels, vehicles and vehicle models (including electric vehicles), transit, biking, and walking; and

    • Supporting new technologies for energy-efficient, safe forms of transportation, such as electric bicycles;

    • Increasing vehicle occupancy, e.g., through carpooling, car sharing, rail freight; and

    • Reducing the distance that people and goods need to travel as a part of daily life; and