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Committee clears bill to remove two conservancy districts from Local Elections Act
Summary
House Bill 308 would exempt the Middle Rio Grande and El Apache/Arch Hurley conservancy districts from the consolidated Local Elections Act to preserve landowner‑based, nonpartisan voting for those special districts; Senate Rules gave HB308 a unanimous due pass.
The Senate Rules Committee voted to give House Bill 308 a due‑pass recommendation after sponsors and witnesses argued the Local Elections Act’s one‑size‑fits‑all approach is infeasible for conservancy districts that conduct landowner voting.
Representative sponsors and district officials told the committee that House Bill 98 (2018), which consolidated local elections under the Local Elections Act, created implementation problems for special‑purpose conservancy districts. "It's a one‑size‑fits‑all that doesn't work for everybody in this state and notably these conservancy districts," a bill presenter said.
Witnesses from the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) and other districts explained that conservancy‑district elections are statutorily designed for landowner voting and are nonpartisan; clerks and county election offices lack the statutory mechanisms or voter‑roll filters to limit voting to landowners in some rural districts. John Thompson and other supporters said the bill had broad backing in prior committee hearings, including support from multiple Middle Rio Grande Pueblos and the League of Women Voters.
Supporters said the change would help ensure an "efficient, free and fair election process" for districts that manage water and irrigation infrastructure. Jay Papalo, speaking for Santa Ana Pueblo, told the committee the bill would help the district and the Pueblos that partner with it on water allocation and delivery.
Committee members questioned technical details about voter eligibility and geography and expressed support for the bill as a cleanup to match statutory design to practical administration. The committee recorded a unanimous due‑pass recommendation and will send HB 308 to the next stage of the legislative process.
If enacted, HB 308 would remove the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the Arch Hurley Conservancy District from the Local Elections Act and restore a conservancy‑district election process tailored to landowner voting; the committee did not record implementation language or fiscal notes in the hearing.
