SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 28

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Cisco McSorley

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE STATE AUDITOR TO STUDY PAST AND PRESENT LEASES AT THE NEW MEXICO STATE FAIR.

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico state fair is financially insolvent and operating at a deficit of one million nine hundred thousand dollars ($1,900,000); and

     WHEREAS, fiscal mismanagement at the New Mexico state fair has resulted in the loss of seventeen million dollars ($17,000,000) in the last five years; and

     WHEREAS, the unrestricted cash reserves of the New Mexico state fair have been exhausted; and

     WHEREAS, the estimated three million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000) collected in cash each year at the New Mexico state fair through parking, admissions to rides and concessions is insufficient to cover all the operating expenses; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico state fair is heavily reliant on lease rates to balance its finances; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico state fair depends on lease payments to pay off its existing debts; and

     WHEREAS, optimal lease rates and lease terms are an integral part of any long-term strategic plan and are necessary to ensure that the New Mexico state fair can continue to operate in the foreseeable future; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico attorney general is tasked with preparing drafts for contracts, bonds and other instruments of writing that may be required for the use of the state whenever requested to do so by any state officer; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico attorney general appears before state and regulatory officers to represent the public interest of the state and to be heard on behalf of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the state auditor thoroughly examines the finances and audits each year the instrumentalities of the state, including the New Mexico finance authority, the New Mexico mortgage finance authority and the New Mexico lottery authority;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico attorney general and the state auditor be requested to study past and present leases at the New Mexico state fair and report their findings to the appropriate interim legislative committee by November 1, 2012; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico attorney general, the state auditor, the state fair commission and the New Mexico state fair.

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