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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Harrison
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/11/07
HB 712
SHORT TITLE Sheep Springs Tourism Center
SB
ANALYST Weber
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$200.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Indian Affairs Department (IAD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 712 appropriates$200 thousand from the general fund to the Indian Affairs
Department to operate and maintain the Sheep Springs tourism center in San Juan County.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $200 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2008 shall
revert to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Indian Affairs Department reports that Native American tourism generates millions of
dollars for New Mexico. According to the New Mexico Indian Reservation Economic Study
Group, total visitor spending in New Mexico averages $2.14 billion per year; of that amount
roughly 13.4% or $286.2 million of that spending is attributable to visitors motivated by New
Mexico’s “Indian Culture." This amount reveals the importance of Indian attributable tourism as
a positive economic factor to New Mexico’s economy and employment.
pg_0002
House Bill 712 – Page
2
Indian Affairs Department reports that the Sheep Springs tourism center currently is under
construction. An appropriation to “operate and maintain" needs to be coordinated with
completion of the capital portion of the project.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
Since the Department of Tourism currently operates and maintains tourism centers should the
appropriation be made to that department. The infrastructure to manage this type of facility
presumably already exists in the Tourism Department with a resultant more efficient use of the
funds.
MW/nt