During his years serving in the Legislature, state Sen. Jeff Steinborn has championed and passed a wide variety of legislation including the creation of an independent ethics commission, setting campaign contribution limits and banning the storage of high-level nuclear waste in New Mexico. This year, some of the bills Steinborn is working to pass bills involve increasing lobbyist transparency and holding data center microgrids in the state to renewable energy standards.

In the latest episode of the “Around the Roundhouse” podcast the Las Cruces Democrat joins Santa Fe New Mexican state politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón to discuss the first week of the 30-day legislative session and offer insight into some of the bills he’s championing.

Steinborn, a member of the Legislative Finance Committee, speaks on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s plan to provide universal child care to New Mexico residents and if he thinks the state can fully fund it.

Steinborn also talks about the reintroduction of a lobbyist transparency bill, House Bill 35, that would require lobbyists to report when they lobby on a bill and if they were for it or against it. It would also require reporting if a lobbyist was involved in the creation of a bill prior to a session.

In 2025, the lobbyist transparency bill Steinborn co-sponsored passed the Legislature but was vetoed by the governor. Steinborn goes over why the governor said she vetoed the bill and discusses the changed that were made for the new bill.

Another major piece of legislation Steinborn is pushing for is a microgrid oversight act that would require new microgrids creating self-generated power to adhere to the same renewable energy mix required of publicly owned utilities. Currently, Steinborn said microgrids that power data centers are not required to generate any power through renewable sources. He said 40 percent of energy generated by public utilities in the state today must come from renewable sources.

Steinborn discusses how the proposed legislation could impact Project Jupiter, a massive data center project in Doña Ana County, and other projects in New Mexico.