KSFR: Professor: NM loopholes for drillers not paying off (2011-01-31)

A UNM professor says New Mexico's tax breaks and other loopholes for oil and gas are not producing the revenues that lawmakers thought they would. Prof. Kim Sovig has told the House energy committee that royalties from oil and gas revenues have declined over the past six years while at the same time the amounts that drillers can deduct from their obligations to the state have more than doubled. The testimony comes as Rep. Brian Egolf of Santa Fe holds a hearing to find out if state incentives are producing revenues and if the state's environmental rules are driving the drilling business to other states.

A Winter Storm Warning has now been posted for much of our area - it remains in effect through Wednesday morning as what may go down as the second driest January on record for our area goes out like a lion. Kerry Jones with the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque says a vigorous storm system is about to move in. It'll bring moderate amounts of snow but more significant will be the bitter cold. Low temperatures Wednesday morning between -5 and -10 with highs only in the low teens.

At the Roundhouse, the House convenes at 10:30 with the Senate following at 11AM. Shortly thereafter, US congressman Ben Ray Lujan addresses a joint session to present his efforts in Washington made on New Mexico's behalf.

State Rep. Brian Egolf of Santa Fe is scheduled to hear testimony this morning on the impact of the oil and gas industry on New Mexico. He's the new chairman of the House energy committee. Egolf has told KSFR he wants information on whether environmental rules enacted over the past several years have hurt job development in those industries. He's also interested in information about the tax breaks and other loopholes for those industries that he says may be costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Customers of First Community Bank may see little change when they go to a branch office this morning. But the bank has a new owner. Federal regulators closed the bank late Friday and sold it to a bank in Minneapolis. First Community has branch locations around the state, including Santa fe. After losing nearly $400 million over the past three years, First Community was no longer able to meet federal financial stability requirements.

The new head of the state land office is promising that things will be different under his management. Ray Powell says he wants the office to be open and transparent. He says the previous administration made decisions that led to questions about appraisals of public lands and the transfer or leasing of big parcels.

All citations issued by the Santa Fe Traffic Operations Program, also known as STOP, could carry a uniform fine of $100 under a proposal up for consideration today by the City's Finance Committee. The STOP program uses mobile speed vans to catch speeders, with cameras capturing images of vehicles and their license plates. Currently, fines are based on how much over the speed limit a vehicle is traveling with infractions below 10 miles over the posted limit carrying an $86 fine.

New Mexico immigrants rights organization, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, plans a Day of Action at the state capitol on Wednesday . Their rallying hundreds of immigrants and allies across the state to visit with legislators and protest the anti-immigrant initiatives that have been proposed for the current legislative session. Governor Martinez has called for doing away with law that now provides state drivers licenses for foreign nationals. The organization also hopes to foment support for continuing access to higher education for immigrant youth.

Hundreds of New Mexicans gathered at our state's southern border community of Sunland Park on Saturday calling for an end to the drug violence that has ravaged Ciudad Juarez. More than 3,100 people were killed last year in Juarez and surrounding areas. Almost 35,000 have died since Mexican President Felipe Calderon began a campaign against drug cartels starting in 2007.

Weather for Santa Fe - Highs today in the 40s with a 50% chance for rainshowers turning to all snow this evening. Lows tonight near 10 degrees with an 80% chance of snow continuing through Tuesday evening. Tuesday's high near 20 degrees. Snow may be heavy at times with total accumulations between 6 and 10 inches. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect through 11AM Wednesday morning.