Bill overhauling NM Game and Fish Department advances at Roundhouse

SANTA FE — A renewed attempt to overhaul New Mexico’s Game and Fish Department cleared its first assigned Senate committee on Monday, but not before facing a stream of questions.

The bill, Senate Bill 5, would change the structure of the state Game Commission and increase license fees for fishing and hunting, among other changes.

Before voting to advance the measure on Monday, some members of the Senate Rules Committee expressed concern about proposed increases for in-state residents, such as raising the cost for an annual resident fishing license from $25 to $35.

But backers said the increased fees would help fund the changes to the Game and Fish Department, which would be rebranded as the New Mexico Department of Wildlife and have its duties expanded if the bill is enacted.

Additional funding could also be provided for the effort under separate bills in the works during this year’s 60-day legislative session.

Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, said the Governor’s Office convened meetings this summer to discuss the proposal and hear from different groups.

“Perhaps not everyone is 100% sold on the bill, but we have heard from different points of view and we have tried to address those points of view,” McQueen said.

He also said it was “time” to pass the bill after several years of debate.

This year’s bill marks the latest attempt to restructure the seven-member Game Commission, after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s removal of several commissioners and other turnover.

The governor pocket vetoed a 2023 bill that would have changed how Game Commission members are appointed, while other measures have stalled at the Roundhouse.

This year’s proposal calls for the creation of a nominating committee to help vet new game commissioners, as is currently done for judicial vacancies.

The bill has support from a broad coalition of conservation groups, including the local chapters of Trout Unlimited and the Audubon Society.

“This is a holistic approach that is going to bring wildlife management in New Mexico into the 21st century,” said Jesse Deubel of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

However, not all groups are on board with the plan to revamp the Game Commission, which sets hunting and fishing regulations statewide and oversees the Game and Fish Department.

Tom Paterson, a Catron County rancher and president-elect of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, expressed misgivings with the plan to remove a requirement that Game Commission members represent different regions of the state.

“We have an issue (now), we know who to call,” Paterson said during Monday’s hearing.

He also pointed out some license fees could jump exponentially, including a junior trapper’s license.

But the proposal would allow some New Mexicans to get a discount on license fees, including residents who qualify for the federal food stamps program.

The bill ultimately passed the committee on a 6-3 vote, with Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, joining the panel’s Democratic members in voting in support.

“A majority of New Mexicans can get behind most of what’s in this bill,” Brantley said.

It now advances to the Senate Conservation Committee.