The NM Tourism Dept is proposing to amend the Litter Control and Beautification Act in the current 2017 Legislative session so as to provide more functionality and clarity.  The primary change is to replace the existing 31-member Litter Control Council, of which only 1 member is active and the terms of the rest have expired (in 2014), and in its place create a 7-member “New Mexico Clean and Beautiful Advisory Committee,” whose members would be appointed by the Tourism Commission.  This does not pertain to the Board of Directors for Keep NM Beautiful, or any of the KAB affiliate boards.

Additionally, over the years many grant recipients have requested Clean & Beautiful funding for litter bags in their own community. Because this is something we feel works better at the local level, the Tourism Department is proposing to remove the section mandating we print and distribute litter bags too. This will allow more Clean & Beautiful funding to be used for a statewide awareness campaign to drive greater participation at each of the local events. Each grant applicant will still have the option to request funding for your own litter bags through the competitive grant process.

You can follow the progress of this proposed change by tracking HB 218 at NMLegis.gov.