The attorneys general are not opposed to permitting reform. They recognize the bill’s goal of a more reliable grid, and they support its transmission planning and interconnection provisions.
Source: N.M. Department of Justice
Albuquerque, NM — Attorney General Raúl Torrez and several state attorneys general from across the country urge Congress not to advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S. 5653) unless it is significantly amended. The bill, introduced September 30, 2026, would overhaul federal permitting across many industries, not just electric transmission.
“Congress can make permitting faster without stripping away the protections that keep communities, tribes, and our environment safe,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “New Mexico’s sacred places, water, and wildlife deserve review that is informed and accountable, and we are asking Congress to fix these problems before this bill moves forward.”
The attorneys general are not opposed to permitting reform. They recognize the bill’s goal of a more reliable grid, and they support its transmission planning and interconnection provisions. The bill would, however, narrow environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act, weaken tribal consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act, reduce state authority under the Clean Water Act, and limit the ability of the public, states, and tribes to challenge unlawful approvals in court. It would also give federal officials broad discretion without safeguards for ethics, scientific integrity, or independence from the industries they regulate.
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“New Mexico’s rivers, streams, and acequias are the foundation of our communities, our economy, and our cultures. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would weaken the tools that states and Tribes rely on to protect clean water from the largest and most polluting projects. New Mexicans’ right to clean water must not be traded away for faster permits,” said Rachel Conn, Executive Director of Amigos Bravos.
For more than half a century, federal law has given states, tribes, and the public a voice in major federal decisions. The attorneys general ask Congress to amend the bill to keep permitting decisions tied to a reviewable record, restore tribes’ role in decisions about their sacred places, preserve the environmental floors Congress established, keep the courts open to states and tribes, limit new certainty provisions to transmission and renewable energy projects, and focus on the staffing, sequencing, and accountability problems that cause permitting delay.
“We are tremendously grateful to our Attorney General, Raul Torrez to lead the efforts among the Attorneys General to address one of the biggest threats to the most cherished gifts of our Creator to sustain our way of life,” said Regis Pecos, former Governor for Cochiti Pueblo. “Since time immemorial our ancestors, generation after generation have made great sacrifices to protect these gifts. Today, it is our turn to fulfill that sacred trust to respond to the threats posed by the proposed BAAJA legislation. It is one of the biggest threats we have faced in the last 50 years. We are blessed to have people epitomized by our Attorney General to work in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration to defeat these threats now before congress.”
“We thank Attorney General Raúl Torrez for standing with the Pueblos,” said All Pueblo Council of Governors Chairman Joey Sanchez, Former Governor of Santa Ana Pueblo. “This bill was written without consulting us, and as written it would weaken the laws we rely on to protect our water, our cultural resources, and our sacred places. The Pueblos support timely permitting, including for our own energy and housing projects. Any bill that speeds it up has to respect Tribal sovereignty and keep government-to-government consultation intact. The Attorney General is right to ask Congress to fix this bill before it moves forward.”
“The Attorney General’s letter shows the State shares our concerns,” said APCG Vice Chairman Mark Mitchell, Governor of the Pueblo of Tesuque. “The Pueblos and the State both depend on these laws to protect places that can’t be replaced. This bill would shorten consultation, limit our ability to go to court when an agency ignores the law, and leave us with less say over our sacred places than we’ve had in more than thirty years. The United States promised to deal with the Pueblos as governments. We’re asking the Senate to keep that promise and not pass this bill as it stands.”
The letter urges Congress to focus on the real causes of permitting delay, including agency staffing, the sequencing of reviews, and follow-through on commitments. It is addressed to Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, with copies to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Committees on Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural Resources.
Attorney General Torrez is joined in sending this letter by the attorneys general of Arizona, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nevada, and Oregon.
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