LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Texas lawmakers are considering expanding the state\u2019s border for the first time since the last major border adjustment during the Compromise of 1850.<\/p>\n
The Texas Governmental Oversight Committee is exploring whether to annex Lea, Roosevelt and Eddy counties. House Speaker and Lubbock State Representative Dustin Burrows directed his colleagues to study the proposal for the coming session.<\/p>\n
Burrows said the conversation is about culture, shared values and opportunity, after lawmakers in New Mexico brought about the idea themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t initiate this, state representatives from New Mexico initiated bills to remove themselves – not to become their own state – but to become part of West Texas,\u201d Lubbock State Representative Carl Tepper, who is on the Governmental Oversight Committee, said.<\/p>\n
Tepper said it could make sense for those counties, because eastern New Mexico aligns with Texas politics better than those of Santa Fe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve expressed frustration with Santa Fe, frustration with overregulation, they are trying to be oil producers and other businesses in New Mexico and it seems like Santa Fe is in their way every step of the way. I think we\u2019d be a much better fit for those counties,\u201d Tepper said.<\/p>\n
Some Lea County residents support the idea. One resident said their feelings are more aligned with Texas, especially when it comes to the oil field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like the governor here wants to get rid of the oil fields and make it harder on oil field workers whereas Texas is opening it up more,\u201d the resident said.<\/p>\n
Other Lea County residents oppose the plan, saying it\u2019s an effort to gain control of their oil fields.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a bunch of crap. All Texas wants is our oil field money,\u201d one resident said. When asked whether the benefits of becoming part of Texas would be worth it, that same resident said no.<\/p>\n
There is also concern about what annexation would do to businesses in those counties, particularly dispensaries and casinos, which are legal in New Mexico but not in Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of businesses like the dispensaries and stuff, well they\u2019re going to lose all their revenue, you know. I\u2019m not no liberal or nothing, I just don\u2019t see how it\u2019d benefit anybody,\u201d one resident said.<\/p>\n
Tepper said the state will have to consider those issues as it studies the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of hurdles to come, not least of which are those regulatory issues. So that\u2019s something that we\u2019re going to have to overcome and this committee is part of addressing those questions so hopefully we\u2019ll have some answers,\u201d Tepper said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not yet clear whether the plan would be a land purchase or whether it would go to a vote for the people of New Mexico. <\/p>\n
When asked whether the cost of a land purchase would trickle down onto Texans, Tepper said it was possible but, again, needed to be studied.<\/p>\n
The plan would have to get approval in Texas, in New Mexico and through Congress before it became reality.<\/p>\n
Tepper said that could take years.<\/p>\n
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