the gas crisis has ignited a debate in the state legislature. stuart dyson spent the day at the capitol talking with lawmakers. he's back in our newsroom right now to continue our team coverage. some lawmakers want more regulation of the industry - some want less regulation - but it seems like everybody wants more information about how this happened and how to avoid it in the future. you can bet on it - we'll be hearing more about this crisis during the remainder of the sixty day legislative session - bills are already being dreamed up and drafted and committees in both the house and senate will look into the issue - progressive lawmakers tend to favor more state control of the industry - conservatives tend to favor less. " i'm sure that what we're gonna find out is what they've been telling us - that they need to have more natural gas - they need to have more capacity - they need to have more lines - but regulation doesn't allow them to do it." " that's an interesting argument - i don't think that's the case - i think that the temperatures were so astronomical and unusual that we simply used more natural gas in a 24 hour period than ever before - so i don't think it's a regulation- deregulatio n problem." but it is a political problem - with a direct impact in many lawmakers home districts where fuel ran out - and the lingering fear in every community in the state - what's to stop it from happening here next time. new mexico is one of the nation's biggest natural gas producers - leading many lawmakers wondering if there's a way to keep more in-state reserves out of the interstate pipeline grid - we'll be hearing more about that as the session continues
