2025 Revising the NM Night Sky Protection Act

Resources:

• Talking points
• Executive summary of proposed updates to Night Sky Protection Act (summary PDF)
• Frequently asked questions : (printable PDF)
• Values of responsible lighting (PDF)
• Find your legislator // Legislator list
• Sample email
• Press release
• 12/13 draft of legislation

Talking points

1. Dark skies are an valuable resource in New Mexico: we have something that many places do not, and we need to protect them. Preserving our natural skies is important culturally, for human appreciation and scientific study, and for health of human and other species. Dark skies can also have a positive economic impact through astrotourism and attracting people to live in New Mexico.

2. Dark skies can be achieved through responsible lighting. Responsible lighting doesn’t mean no lighting, it just means putting light only where and when it is needed. Responsible lighting can be safer, save energy and money, be healthier, have less adverse effect on wildlife, respect property rights, and enable greater human appreciation and scientific study of the night sky. There is no down side!

3. A combination of legislation, outreach, and changing attitudes will all be needed to address the issue. State legislation plays an important role in demonstrating a commitment on the part of our state and legislators.

4. New Mexico was a pioneer in passing the Night Sky Protection Act in 1999, but there have been a lot of developments since then, and it is in need of updating. We are proposing to update it in a small, but impactful way: we require all new lighting to be shielded to a new standard, and we remove exceptions to this that are no longer justified.

Executive summary:

Summary as PDF

We propose to modify the existing Night Sky Protection Act in a small, but impactful, way: we will require all new lighting to be shielded to the current standard recommended by DarkSky International (at least 95% of the total light from a luminaire to be directed below an angle of 10 degrees from a horizontal plane), with a few common sense exceptions:

• we establish a partial exception for brighter lights near the ground that are illuminating upward: these must be directed at something and not at the sky.
• we establish an exception for fainter lights near the ground.
• we establish an exception for strings of small lights and temporary holiday lighting.
• we maintain an exemption for highway lighting signs.
• we add a total exemption for temporary lighting associated with film or television production, construction, or emergency services.

We remove exemptions:

• for new noncompliant lights that are turned off after 11:00.
• for new advertising signs.
• for new lights at farms, ranches, dairies, feedlots or industrial, mining or oil and gas facilities, but delay the implementation of the shielding requirement for these facilities until 2027, to allow implementations currently in progress to proceed without modification.

These exemptions are removed because responsible lighting can still ensure both safety and effectiveness.

There are no requirements for modification of existing lights or their operation until they are replaced.

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ as PDF

We already have the Night Sky Protection Act that requires shielding. Why do we need a revision?

Shielding that prevents light from directly going skywards is literally only half the problem. Artificial light at night below horizontal can still cause glare and light trespass, not addressed in the 1999 law. Glare interferes with human safety and night vision, light trespass is a nuisance. The revision restricts light to be directed within 80 degrees of straight down (nadir) instead of 90.

Furthermore, the original NSPA allowed for unshielded lighting for low wattage lights, but since the technology has changed to LEDs, low wattage now can still be very bright! Lumens is the appropriate unit to specify brightness, so we have incorporated that and been more specific about what is allowed.

Finally, it is now recognized that responsible lighting can be as safe as lighting that allows light up into the sky where it is not needed, so we are proposing to remove exceptions that were previously included because of safety concerns.

Will anyone be required to change existing lighting at any time?

No. Only new lighting is subject to the revised NSPA. We hope that people will choose to replace existing lighting because it makes sense to do so from the perspective of cost and better lighting, but we do not require it.

If existing lighting is not required to change, how are we improving anything?

All new lighting is required to be shielded, so we keep the situation from getting worse.

How will the NSPA be enforced?

The enforcement mechanism is unchanged: the construction industries division of the regulation and licensing department shall enforce the Night Sky Protection Act as it pertains to public buildings subject to permit and inspection under the Construction Industries Licensing Act and each political subdivision of the state shall fully enforce the provisions of the Responsible Outdoor Lighting and Night Sky Protection Act.

Why are we removing the exemption for outdoor lighting at farms, ranches, dairies, feedlots or industrial, mining or oil and gas facilities?

First, note that the exemption for existing lighting stands; no modifications to existing lighting or hours of operation for these facilities are required.

DarkSky International and the Illuminating Engineering Society have established standards for worker safety that can be achieved using responsible lighting, as implemented in the revised NSPA. Responsible lighting can focus on safety and can be safer than non-compliant lighting. Some sites, e.g., some oil and gas facilities in Texas, have installed responsible lighting and report that worker satisfaction is higher in that they feel safer.

The largest growth of light pollution in New Mexico has occurred in the NW and SE portions of the state as a result of wasteful lighting at oil and gas facilities. Moving forward, this growth can and should be stopped; removing the exemption only means that new lighting needs to be compliant. Note that facilities on BLM land are already required to install shielded lighting.

For new lighting, we extend the start date of the new shielding requirement to January 1, 2027 so that any facilities currently in planning or construction do not need to be changed.

What about lighting at recreational facilities?

As above, existing lighting is grandfathered in, and no modifications are required.

For new facilities, DarkSky International has an outdoor sports lighting program that demonstrates that compliant lighting at recreational facilities is feasible at comparable cost.

Why are we removing the exemption for highway advertising?

Highway advertising signs can contribute significantly to light pollution especially in some of the more rural areas in the state. Many advertising signs are lit from below, which can lead to increased light pollution. Fortunately, these signs can be equally well lit from above with shielded lighting, so it is possible to both have highway advertising and protect our skies at the same time!

Sample email

Press release