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Read. Follow. Verify.New Mexico Creates Wildfire Fund and Surcharges for Electric Utilities to Cover Fire Damage Claims
Last action · January 27, 2026: Not PrintedSponsors: Chris Chandler and 3 others
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What This Bill Proposed
New Mexico establishes the Wildfire Fund Act, allowing participating electric utilities to collect customer surcharges to finance a state fund that reimburses wildfire damage claims starting in 2030. The legislation creates safety engineering positions within the Public Regulation Commission, mandates utility wildfire mitigation plans, and appropriates $2.5 million for 2027 administration.
Electric utilities participating in the fund must collect customer surcharges, while meeting strict wildfire mitigation standards to qualify for multi-million-dollar damage reimbursements starting in 2030.
- The State of New Mexico regulates electric utilities through the Public Regulation Commission, which oversees utility safety standards, rates, and service quality. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Electric utilities
Electric utilities must submit wildfire mitigation plans, collect customer surcharges, and meet eligibility criteria to qualify for wildfire claim reimbursements.
Public Regulation Commission
The commission is required to contract a fund administrator, promulgate rules, establish safety bureaus and engineering positions, and oversee fund operations.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can electric utilities start receiving disbursements from the Wildfire Fund?
How is the Wildfire Fund financed?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 27, 2026New Mexico LegislatureNot Printed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of Utility Wildfire Risk Pooling
The legislation shifts wildfire liability risk management into a dedicated state-supervised fund financed by customer surcharges.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.nmlegis.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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