Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows ordered lawmakers to study the possibility of Texas absorbing one or more counties from southeastern New Mexico, including Lea County. The directive was issued on Thursday as part of Burrows's interim charges and calls for a review of the constitutional, statutory, fiscal, and economic implications of adding New Mexico territory to Texas. The proposal is driven by frustration from conservative, oil-rich counties in New Mexico that say they are being ignored by liberal leaders in Santa Fe.
In New Mexico, Republican lawmakers Randall T Pettigrew and Jimmy G Mason have revived a proposal that would allow counties to vote on whether to separate from New Mexico entirely. Lea County and surrounding areas sit atop the Permian Basin, one of the most productive oil and gas regions in the country. Supporters say the divide is cultural as much as political, with a rural, energy-driven region at odds with a Democratic-led state government they feel is out of touch.
If pursued, the process would require approvals at multiple levels of government and likely years of legal and political wrangling. Critics dismiss the proposal as largely symbolic and see it as more of a political statement unlikely to survive the enormous legal hurdles required to redraw state boundaries.