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Committee approves amended memorial to form wildfire mitigation study group; insurance and indigenous stewardship included
Summary
Senate Memorial 2, amended in committee to add the superintendent of insurance and to include indigenous knowledge and co-stewardship principles, was recommended do-pass after broad support from utilities and rural electric cooperatives.
Senate Memorial 2, which would convene a multi-agency study group to examine wildfire mitigation and prevention practices across state agencies and utilities, cleared the Senate Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Committee after two committee-level amendments.
Sponsor Senator Woods described the memorial as a way to “bring together what we know and what we can do” and to consolidate best practices from agencies and neighboring states. He said the group would meet during the 2025 interim and report back in November 2025.
The committee adopted an amendment to add the superintendent of insurance to the membership list; that amendment raised the memorial’s minimum membership count and was adopted in committee. Senator Charlie offered and the committee adopted a second amendment to include language centered on traditional and indigenous knowledge systems, co-management and co-stewardship principles.
Witnesses from utilities and rural electric cooperatives said the memorial would help coordinate mitigation work. Carlos Lucero of Public Service Company of New Mexico said the company “support[s] Senate Memorial 2” and described wildfire-prone areas in its service territory. Vince Martinez, interim director/CEO of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and George Dodge Jr., representing Western Farmers Electric Co-op and others, testified that cooperatives invest in vegetation management and that the memorial could help share best practices.
Melissa Robertson, property and casualty bureau chief for the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, told the committee her office supports inclusion on the task force and appreciated the amendment adding the superintendent of insurance as a member.
Senator Charlie had urged the committee to include explicit consideration of tribal traditional knowledge; she praised the second amendment for establishing principles around co-management and indigenous knowledge systems. The amendments were described as friendly and were adopted before the committee vote.
After roll call, the committee recorded a do-pass recommendation on the twice-amended memorial. The memorial now moves forward with the superintendent of insurance added to the membership and committee direction to consider traditional and indigenous stewardship in study work.
