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HB 468: STATE SOVEREIGNTY OVER STATE TRUST WILDLIFE

An Act Relating To Wildlife Management; Creating The State Sovereignty Over State Trust Wildlife Act; Asserting State Authority To Regulate The Lesser Prairie Chicken In New Mexico; Declaring An Emergency.

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MOD HB 468
STATE SOVEREIGNTY OVER STATE TRUST WILDLIFE

Legislative URL:
HB 468 on nmlegis.gov
Emergency Clause:
Yes
Germane:
N/A
Location:
HJC
Action:
[11] HAWC/HJC-HAWC [25] DP-HJC API.
Issue(s):

Related Legislators

Bill Sponsor:

Related Documents

Downloads:
Introduced
HAWC Committee Report
Fiscal Impact Report
Summary

This bill, with the emergency clause, creates the State Sovereignty Over State Trust Wildlife Act. asserting that:

  • the State of New Mexico, acting through the Legislature and through the Department of Game and Fish, possesses the sole regulatory authority
  • to govern the management, hunting and possession of lesser prairie chickens in New Mexico and
  • to promote conservation efforts;
  • New Mexico’s lesser prairie chickens and their habitats are not subject to the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 or any federal regulation or executive action pertaining to the Endangered Species Act, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce; and that
  • any federal regulation or executive action pertaining to the Endangered Species Act that purports to limit, control or regulate the lesser prairie chicken, its habitat, farming and ranching practices, oil and natural gas exploration, development and production, energy pipelines, renewable energy and transmission and distribution power lines, or other normal and necessary activities has no effect within the state.

 

While the feasibility of this bill achieving its goals may be speculative, given the interplay between state and federal law, a potential concern regarding this bill may be that, in addition to removing federal protection of the lesser prairie chicken, it could, if successfully implemented, become the basis for arguing for the invalidation of all federal protection of endangered species in the state.