Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports
if they are used for other purposes.
Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).
Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and
attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Wallace
DATE TYPED 2/21/2005 HB 996
SHORT TITLE Santa Fe River Water Master
SB
ANALYST Aguilar
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
FY05
FY06
$90.0
Indeterminate Recurring General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Office of the State Engineer (OSE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 996 appropriates $90 thousand dollars from the general fund to the Office of the State
Engineer for the purpose of creating a water district for the Santa Fe river system and appointing
a water master.
Funds appropriated by the bill do not revert at the end of a fiscal year.
Significant Issues
The establishment of a Santa Fe River system water district and the appointment of a water mas-
ter would provide a means of distributing the waters of the Santa Fe River system consistent with
state law.
The water master would facilitate monitoring and measuring of the distribution of those waters
within the Santa Fe river system.
pg_0002
House Bill 996 -- Page 2
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The Office of the State Engineer has established performance measures relating to the percent
readiness to perform active water resource management. A portion of this initiative involves the
establishment of water masters within various basins.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $90 million dollars contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the gen-
eral fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall
not revert to the general fund.
The Office of the State Engineer notes $90 thousand dollars may prove insufficient to fully cover
preliminary planning costs for a water district (i.e., hydrologist salary, attorney salary, and water
master salary.
PA/yr