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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Fox-Young
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/2/2006
HB 524
SHORT TITLE NM Indigenous Specialty Crop Marketing
SB
ANALYST Earp
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$250.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates Senate Bill 275
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Higher Education Department (HED)
New Mexico State University (NMSU)
New Mexico Indian Affairs Department (NMIAD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 524 appropriates $250,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New
Mexico State University (NMSU) to support the New Mexico Department of Agriculture
(NMDA) in conducting an indigenous specialty crop marketing program.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $250,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert
to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
This proposal was not included among the special program funding requests submitted by
NMSU to the Higher Education Department (HED) for review. Consequently, this proposal has
not been included in the HED fiscal year 2007 funding recommendations to the Legislature.
pg_0002
House Bill 524 – Page
2
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
NMDA would administer the funds provided through this legislation. No significant additional
administrative impact is anticipated.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Senate Bill 275 and House Bill 524 are duplicate measures.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
NMDA reports that it currently has an ongoing New Mexico Specialty Crop Program established
under the New Mexico Specialty Crops Act of 1983. NMDA funds New Mexico companies,
individuals, agricultural organizations, commodity groups, and nonprofit organizations which
have a commitment to improve the economic viability of New Mexico’s rural economy. Fund-
ing is used for marketing projects, advertising and promotion, surveys, demonstration projects,
marketing development, product development, and organic products. Guidelines and criteria for
funding under the Specialty Crops Program have been established and are based on competitive
proposals. This fiscal year NMDA funded 20 New Mexico projects for a total of $119,065.
However, over 22 other viable specialty crop projects were not funded due to lack of funds.
The Indian Affairs Department notes that New Mexico specialty crops include pinon nuts, pinto
beans, chiles, blue corn, and peletized alfalfa. For many of the 22 Indian Tribes and Pueblos of
New Mexico, agricultural and food products are grown in the traditional Native American way
on their tribal lands. It is unclear from the proposed legislation whether this indigenous specialty
crop program would be available to the New Mexico Tribes. However, if it is made available, a
consultation plan that incorporates tribal viewpoints on environment, water conservation/quality
and other unique agricultural issues would need to be developed.
DKE/mt