N.M. Democrat Gov Grisham mandates state’s vehicle fleet be all electric by 2035

The state purchased 35 electric and hybrid vehicles in 2020 for $3.5 million, which state employees used for less than 1% of their total mileage

By Kevin Killough

Published: October 17, 2023 12:18pm

Updated: October 17, 2023 3:05pm

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has issued an executive order that will require all state agencies to transition to a fully electric fleet by 2035.

Grisham announced the order Monday.

When she took office, Grisham announced that the state would spend $3.5 million on electric vehicles and hybrids for the state’s motor pool.

Through a public records request, Power The Future, an energy advocacy group, discovered state employees drove a total of 16.6 million miles in government-issued vehicles in 2022. Of those miles, only 36,077 were in the governor’s EVs.

“The governor wants to make state employees drive EVs, but they’re not driving the EVs they already have,” Larry Behrens, Power The Future western states director, told Just The News.

In Grisham’s latest push for EVs, law enforcement vehicles, firefighting trucks and some other heavy-duty vehicles are exempt from the governor’s order, according to the Associated Press.

The governor said she will also ask the state Legislature for “robust” tax credits in its 2024 legislative session starting in January. She told the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper the state could support the tax credits due to record-breaking revenue projections from the oil and gas industry.