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Committee gives due pass to bill removing two conservancy districts from Local Elections Act
Summary
House Bill 308, which would exempt the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the Arch Hurley Conservancy District from the Local Elections Act and restore landowner‑based voting rules, received a unanimous due pass from the Senate Rules Committee after sponsors and tribal and district supporters testified.
The Senate Rules Committee gave House Bill 308 a unanimous due pass after a hearing in which district officials, tribal leaders and lobbyists said the Local Elections Act’s consolidated election rules created practical and legal challenges for two conservancy districts.
A presenter told the committee that HB 308 “seeks to remove the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the Arch Hurley Conservancy District … from the Local Elections Act,” arguing the districts are statutorily designed as special districts for which the consolidated, one‑size‑fits‑all election procedures are “unimplementable.” The presenter said the change would return those districts to election rules tailored to their statutory structure.
Supporters who spoke included John Thompson, a registered lobbyist for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District; Kathy Elliott, the registered lobbyist for Quay County’s Arch Hurley Conservancy District; and Jay Garcia, a tribal council member speaking for the Pueblo of Santa Ana. Garcia told the committee the Pueblo supports the bill because the district’s electoral rules affect water allocations and district governance that affect tribal members.
Kathy Elliott said county clerks could not practically run these special‑district elections under the Local Elections Act. John Thompson noted broad support from Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, the League of Women Voters and the Bernalillo County Clerk in earlier committee testimony.
Committee members discussed the tradeoff between consolidated elections — a measure intended to increase participation — and the need to preserve voting rules that limit participation to landowners in conservancy districts. Senator Brantley observed that conservancy district voting rolls typically focus on landowners and that changing to a general electorate could “dilute” the vote of those directly affected.
Senator Bergman moved a due pass. The chair called a roll and announced a unanimous due pass; the bill will advance in the legislative process for further consideration. The committee recorded no amendments during the hearing.
