Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard

STATE News:

SANTA FE — New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard announced today that the State Land Office processed $300,473,548 in oil and gas royalties in October, setting a new one-month record for the agency.

The revenue will be transferred to the State Investment Council for investment in the Land Grant Permanent Fund to benefit New Mexico’s public schools, colleges, and hospitals.

“We just followed a record-breaking fiscal year with a new, record-breaking month. It’s clear that the oil and gas industry is still thriving and our efforts to uphold environmental protections aren’t a barrier to earning money for education,” Commissioner Garcia Richard said. “We’ve shown that it’s possible to provide appropriate oversight of the oil and gas industry and still make massive amounts of money for New Mexico’s school kids. Through our Accountability and Enforcement program, financial audits and more we are holding the bad actors accountable while the good actors continue raking in cash for our schools.”

Commissioner Garcia Richard recently announced that the State Land Office raised $2.4 billion in fiscal year 2022, essentially doubling the record of $1.25 billion set the year before. Before Commissioner Garcia Richard took office, the agency had never exceeded $1 billion in a fiscal year, but it has now done so in four consecutive fiscal years. Overall, the agency has raised over $5.4 billion for New Mexico’s beneficiaries since January 2019.

In addition to revenue from oil and gas operations, Commissioner Garcia Richard is committed to continued diversification of the State Land Office’s revenue streams, instituting the first-ever Office of Renewable Energy and Office of Outdoor Recreation within the agency. Fiscal year 2022 also proved to be a record-setting year for renewable energy at the agency as well. The State Land Office made good on Commissioner Garcia Richard’s goal of tripling renewable energy on state lands, issuing leases for what will become the largest wind farm in the Western Hemisphere. She has also secured long-term business leases with job-creating companies like Netflix.