Organized Opposition to SB1 Revised

Opposition to Senate Bill 1

• Underserved Communities are disproportionately disadvantaged as government agencies promote and facilitate regionalization, transfer of ownership and transfer of responsibility through Joint Powers Agreements (JPA). Government agencies are currently facilitating additional points to Community Public Water Systems (CPWS) that willingly transfer their ownership and responsibilities to another entity or newly created entity. 85 % of New Mexico communities already struggling in this bearish market where underserved CPWS are rewarded funding through a competitive point system that favors newly created Quisi-governments and facilitates and awards regionalization transfer of ownership and responsibilities

• In efforts To meet economies of scale these CPWS that choose to regionalize “transfer of ownership/responsibility” to a new quasi-government will develop a greater amount of customer base that will further their position to become more competitive in affording government State Revolving Funds SRF in federal grant capitalization funding programs that are originally created for small communities with low populations in rural areas but since 2021 this federal funding has been reallocated to bigger communities because of affordability issues. This new governance of water will create a domino effect and add to the disproportionate disadvantaged underserved sovereign entities seeking funding in a discriminating competitive point system coupled with a greater customer base created through regionalization transfer of ownership transfer of responsibilities to newly formed Quasi-government that will provide greater revenue due to bigger customer base with combined assets that will position them to have greater capacity to repay the loans at the expense of losing ownership, responsibility and 4 out of 5 board member seats. These political subdivisions throughout New Mexico are being reduced through regionalization transfer of ownership transfer of responsibilities. Existing CPWS who choose not to transfer their ownership and responsibilities will be left to compete with the government-created and funded entities such as JPA (transferring of ownership) created through SB1. CPWS will be unjustifiably unable to compete with big government agendas that incentivizes and facilitates affordable funding to those who choose to participate in the re-governance of water

• 85% of New Mexico small CPWS that fall under the median household income level that are seeking affordable funding and technical assistance to improve our communities are struggling to meet requirements of the loan portion of the grant funding provided by the State Revolving funds. We seek affordable funding and technical assistance through a regionalization collaboration workforce program . We are not looking to transfer ownership or responsibilities. We seek help bridging the gap between affordable funding and technical assistance to provide safe clean affordable water.

The state of New Mexico is currently investing in CPWS infrastructure at under 1/2 of percentage and at this rate we would have to build water and wastewater infrastructure construction projects to a 200 year life expectancy.

Due to state and federal government funding being at such a low investment priority for decades, state and federal government agencies and organizations are promoting and facilitating regionalization transfer of ownership transfer of responsibility as their top priority legislation to address decades of lack of proper investments in water and waste water infrastructure. Currently the legislature is considering Senate Bill 1 in legislative session 2023 that would build back managerial secretarial operational and financial capacity by transferring ownership and transferring responsibility to new quasi-governmental entities in efforts to meet economies of scale. that this current public water watch system that is responsible for bringing about this systemic failures(aging failing infrastructure created by difficulties in receiving affordable funding and technical assistance) to community public water systems nationwide.

Local government is the most important level of government there is in communicating and addressing the safety, health and peace of each individual community and the government entities that represent their constituents' concerns and needs through a representative government.

Senate Bill 1 is a form of re-governance of water and an attestation that bigger regulatory government is not a practicable solution . We need to invest in the workforce that is needed in a regionalization collaborations program providing apprenticeship training services to help CPWS rebuild managerial secretarial operational capacity to keep up with the regulatory policies that have outpaced matching investments by state and federal funding sources. This Regionalization collaboration programs will ensure and provide the opportunity to retain the sovereignty and autonomy of individual communities