Tackling the Roundhouse

Jane Phillips/The New Mexican Photo: Freshman legislator Brian Egolf is prepping for the session by attending meetings, drafting bills and meeting with constituents. ‘I want to do everything I can to make sure my kids can raise their family in Santa Fe,’ he said. Egolf is one of 10 freshman in the House this year.

Santa Fe's freshman lawmaker gets an early start on the session

Kate Nash | The New Mexican 12/19/2008

"Egolf, 32, is taking the seat of Rep. Peter Wirth, who is moving to the Senate and replacing Sen. John Grubesic.

A 1999 graduate of Georgetown University, Egolf has worked for former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Sen.-elect Tom Udall.

He earned a law degree from the University of New Mexico in 2005.

He's a water lawyer and father of a 1-year old — two factors influencing some of the first bills he'll introduce.

Among Egolf's bills is a push to give more power to New Mexico landowners who hold rights to a surface property but not the mineral rights underneath.

The measure as drafted would require an oil and gas producer to give the surface owner notice of their desire to lease the minerals as well as information about who owns the minerals before a lease could be signed.

Under the measure, the surface owner would have 45 days to contact the mineral owner and negotiate a purchase of the minerals, if they wished.

"The idea is to give notice to surface owners and the option to buy those rights," Egolf said. "It puts the power in the hands of the people who own the surface."

Hearings on the idea, which hits on a hot topic for people in the Galisteo Basin in particular, is sure to attract crowds at the Roundhouse.

"It's not going to sail through without opposition, but it's important to at least start the conversation," Egolf said. He said drilling was a big topic he heard about on the campaign trail." More>>>>