SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state Legislature has endorsed a bill that would raise royalty rates for new petroleum development on prime pieces of land in New Mexico, on one of the world's most prolific oil production areas.
A 37-31 vote on Thursday sent the bill from the Statehouse to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for consideration.
The proposal would increase the top royalty rate for oil and gas development from 20% to 25% on New Mexico's state trust lands with implications for the energy industry in the Permian Basin, which overlaps southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. The area accounted for 46% of U.S. oil production in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
New Mexico deposits royalty payments from oil and gas development in a multibillion-dollar investment trust that benefits public schools, universities and hospitals.
“We have a legal duty to maximize the return on these assets,” said Democratic state Rep. Matthew McQueen of Galisteo, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Legislative approval was the culmination of a yearslong effort backed by Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard to increase top-tier royalty rates. A year ago, Garcia Richard put a hold on lease sales indefinitely for coveted tracts while advocating for the rate increase.
Proponents say neighboring Texas already charges up to 25% on state trust land amid intense competition to drill in the Permian Basin. The royalty changes in neighboring New Mexico would not go into effect in Texas.
Opponents say the rate change threatens to penalize petroleum producers and public beneficiaries, noting that oil production is significantly taxed in other ways and hinges on volatile commodity prices.
In a news release, Garcia Richard said the goal is “to make as much money as possible for school kids and our public institutions.”
“Raising the oil and gas royalty rate on premium state lands was always the right thing to do," she said.
Garcia Richard, a Democrat, terms out of office as land commissioner in 2026 and this week announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor.
New Mexico is the No. 2 state for oil production behind Texas.
Efforts by New Mexico to save and invest portions of a financial windfall from local oil production are paying dividends as state government income on investments is forecast to surpass personal income tax collections.
The state’s land grant permanent fund currently distributes about $1.2 billion a year to beneficiary schools, universities and hospitals as well as the state general fund.
New Mexico state government relies heavily on a financial windfall linked to oil production amid increasing concerns about the connection between climate change and natural disasters including wildfires.
A coalition of environmental groups praised the passage of bills this week that would underwrite local clean energy and environmental sustainability projects and related job training.
But Albuquerque-based attorney Gail Evans of the Center for Biological Diversity vowed to press forward with a lawsuit against the state seeking compliance with the “pollution control clause” in the New Mexico Constitution on behalf of Native Americans who live near oil wells.
“Our legislators didn’t even take the tiny step of ensuring our kids are protected from dangerous oil and gas pollution when they’re at school,” said Evans, alluding to a stalled bill to restrict oil and gas operations within a mile (1.6 kilometers) of school property.
FILE - Pumpjacks are visible before sunrise Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Hobbs, N.M. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
FILE - New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham waves during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
FILE - Pumpjacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., on April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least seven people were killed after Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight on Sunday, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services.
The attacks, including on the capital, Kyiv, came ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect U.S.-mediated talks on Monday to discuss a pause in long-range attacks targeting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia a day ahead of the indirect talks, Ukraine's President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine is planning to send technical teams to discuss the details of the partial ceasefire.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he expected “some real progress” at the talks in Saudi Arabia, “particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries, and from that you’ll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire.”
Asked about concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be looking beyond Ukraine and could press further into Europe, even if Russia is awarded territory within Ukraine now, Witkoff said he has been asked his opinion on what Putin’s motives are on a large scale.
“I simply have said that I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War II. In World War II there was no NATO. You have countries that are armed there. I take him at his word in this sense. And I think the Europeans are beginning to come to that belief, too. But it sort of doesn’t matter. That’s an academic issue. … The agenda is stop the killing, stop the carnage, let’s end this thing.”
Asked whether he was convinced that Putin wanted peace, Witkoff said: “I feel that he wants peace.”
Russia launched 147 drones across Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 97, and 25 others didn't reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures. The attacks struck the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and Donetsk regions, as well as the capital, Kyiv.
Three people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed and 10 others were injured in a drone attack on Kyiv, the city’s military administration said. Extended sounds of explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital in the early hours as the air raid blared for over five hours. Russian drones and debris from shot-down drones, which were flying at lower altitudes to evade air defenses, fell on residential buildings.
Residents in Kyiv surveyed the damage done to their homes and neighborhoods on Sunday morning. Many were disparaging of the upcoming ceasefire talks, pointing to the burned out properties destroyed in the drone attack, saying these were more indicative of Russia’s true intentions.
In an old multistory building on Kyiv’s left bank that was damaged in the overnight attack, Dmytro Zapadnya, 37, said he had no faith in Russia upholding any ceasefire agreement.
“There is no point in signing anything (with Russians), because it will not be worth the cost of paper where you put this signature. Well, the only thing that is not very pleasant is that now the United States seems to have little understanding of our situation,” he said.
Elsewhere, four people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Donetsk region, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said, including three who died in a strike on the frontline town of Dobropillya.
In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said attacks such as the one in Kyiv were a daily occurrence for Ukraine.
“This week alone, more than 1,580 guided aerial bombs, almost 1,100 strike drones and 15 missiles of various types were used against our people,” he said. “New solutions are needed, with new pressure on Moscow to stop both these strikes and this war.”
Also on Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 29 over the region of Rostov and 20 more over southwestern Astrakhan. In Rostov, one person was killed and a car caught fire due to the Ukrainian drone attack, according to the area’s temporary governor, Yuri Slyusar.
A woman also died in the Russian border village of Novostroyevka-Pervaya in the Belgorod region when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in which she was traveling.
The driver, the woman’s daughter, was also seriously injured in the attack, said local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.
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Associated Press journalist Bela Szandelszky contributed.
A resident cleans up the damaged apartment in a multi-storey house after Russia's night drone attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Residents clean up the damaged apartment in a multi-storey house after Russia's night drone attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Residents clean up the damaged apartment in a multi-storey house after Russia's night drone attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A resident watches as his neighbour cleans up the damaged apartment in a multi-storey house after a Russian night drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A resident watches as his neighbour cleans up the damaged apartment in a multi-storey house after a Russia's night drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A resident cleans up the damaged apartment in a multi-storey house after a Russia's night drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire after a drone hit an apartment in a multi-storey building during Russia's drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in near Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
