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Committee hears bipartisan site‑readiness bill; supporters urge $24 million appropriation for shovel‑ready sites
Summary
Senate Bill 169, a site‑readiness act to identify and prepare strategic development sites statewide, was presented with broad business and utility support; the bill authorizes the Economic Development Department to solicit predevelopment proposals and would be funded at $24 million in the budget proposal.
Vice Chair (presenting member) introduced Senate Bill 169 to create a site readiness program within the Economic Development Department. The bill would designate strategic economic development sites, authorize predevelopment projects to prepare utilities and infrastructure, and include an appropriation that appeared in the budget package at $24 million when House Bill 2 was transmitted to the Senate.
Speakers from business and utilities urged committee support. Lisonbee Riley, public policy director for the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, told members that businesses require "shovel ready" sites with infrastructure and permitting in place and urged the committee to support the bill. Other supporters included the New Mexico Association of Realtors, PNM, Xcel Energy, Mercury Bio, the Association of Commercial Real Estate Developers, and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. Representatives of the Economic Development Department said a pilot program conducted over the summer identified 28 candidate sites around the state and that the program would prioritize technical assistance and local government involvement.
Committee members asked how the advisory committee would be formed, whether rural and tribal communities would be represented, how reporting and performance measures would be handled, and what the state's return on investment metrics would be. The bill lists advisory members in statute drawn from economic development‑adjacent agencies and establishes five public members appointed by the legislative council to represent relevant fields such as planning, utilities, and architecture. Deputy Secretary Isaac Romero said an amendment added during the Senate process requires local government technical assistance and that the pilot covered urban and rural sites.
Representative Duncan moved to approve the bill and Representative Brown seconded; committee action on the motion was proposed at the end of the presentation but the transcript does not record a committee vote during the meeting record included here. Committee members pressed for further detail on tribal engagement and on how grant sizes and performance measures would be determined; presenters said the department plans to use existing site‑readiness criteria and would coordinate reporting and performance measures with the Legislative Finance Committee as the program and budget evolve.
Speakers quoted in this article addressed Senate Bill 169 at the House Appropriations and Finance Committee meeting.
