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committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports
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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Wirth
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
01/22/2007
2/22/2007 HB 261/aHAFC
SHORT TITLE Natural Resources Trustee Fund & Office
SB
ANALYST Moser
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to: 75-7-1 to 75-7-5 NMSA 1978
Duplicates SB15
Duplicates Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From:
The Office of the Natural Resources Trustee (ONRT)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of HAFC Amendment
The House Appropriations and Finance Committee amendment for House Bill 261 removes the
appropriation of $500,000 as this amount duplicates the appropriation in the General
Appropriation Act for the ONRT.
Synopsis of Original Bill
House Bill 261 appropriates $500 thousand from the General Fund to ONRT for the purpose of
establishing and funding a revolving fund which would cover initial start up costs for recovery
projects.
pg_0002
House Bill 261/aHAFC – Page
2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The ONRT indicates that it has successfully recovered start up costs in each one of its cases to
date. Therefore, ONRT does not expect additional special appropriations anytime in the
foreseeable future
The appropriation of $500 thousand contained in this bill is a nonrecurring expense to the
general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall not
revert to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Start up costs in the past has been funded partly from the natural resources trustee fund. The
ONRT has been advised by the Attorney General’s Office that these monies by law “…must be
used for the purpose of restoring, replacing, or acquiring the equivalent of the injured natural
resources," and , may not be used for operating expenses. This bill establishes a one-time
appropriation. The ONRT is allowed to collect through the court for actual costs incurred. As
these monies, are collected they will be deposited into the revolving fund to offset future start-up
costs.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
This bill the ONRT states “…would allow the state to take on larger cases where start up costs
may substantially exceed $500 thousand." This would allow the state to recover substantial
settlements for the state.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
The state will be required to appropriate additional monies from the general fund to meet the
mission of the agency.
GM/mt