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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Lundstrom
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/21/07
HB HJM 62
SHORT TITLE Native American Arts Authenticity Task Force
SB
ANALYST Guambaña
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08
FY09 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$0.1
Recurring General
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Joint Memorial 62 requests the creation of a Native American Arts and Crafts
Authenticity Task Force.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
House Joint Memorial 62 requests that:
The governor appoint a "Native American Arts and Crafts Authenticity Task Force"
whose members shall include representatives from the Cultural Affairs Department, the
Economic Development Department, the Indian Affairs Department, Native American
artisans and the Native American arts and crafts industry;
The governor designate the Cultural Affairs Department to provide administrative
support to the Task Force and that the Task Force be requested to prepare a report to the
governor and the legislature that provides information about the nature and extent of the
production and sale of authentic and of counterfeit Native American arts and crafts in
New Mexico;
The Task Force be requested to consider ways in which the State Indian Arts and Crafts
Sales Act and the Federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act might be better enforced in New
Mexico;
The Task Force be requested to find alternative ways in which consumers purchasing
Native American arts and crafts in New Mexico could be more confident that the
products they purchase are authentic;
pg_0002
House Joint Memorial 62 – Page
2
The Task Force present its report to the governor and to the appropriate interim
legislative committees by October 1, 2007; and
Copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the Secretary of Cultural Affairs,
the Secretary of Economic Development and the Secretary of Indian Affairs.
House Joint Memorial states that:
The retail market for Native American arts and crafts results in significant retail sales in
New Mexico every year, and the availability of authentic Native American arts and crafts
is a major draw for tourism in New Mexico;
The sale of authentic Native American arts and crafts provides a significant source of
income for many Native American artisans residing in New Mexico;
There is an increasing amount of counterfeit, non-Indian made arts and crafts that are
being marketed as authentic, and many consumers are unable to discriminate between the
two;
The increasing availability of counterfeit Native American arts and crafts threatens the
confidence of consumers in the integrity of the Native American arts and crafts market in
New Mexico;
Education and outreach to consumers about how to recognize authentic Native American
arts and crafts is an important method to protect authentic Native American arts and
crafts in this state;
Outreach and education to rural and isolated Native American artisans about proposed
official steps to protect this culturally based economy and involving them in the process
of seeking appropriate protection for this economy is important;
The Cultural Affairs Department currently runs a program in conjunction with the Palace
of the Governors in Santa Fe whereby Native Americans sell authentic Indian arts and
crafts on the portal of the palace of the governors; and
The Cultural Affairs Department has established a program whereby consumers can be
confident that Native American arts and crafts purchased pursuant to the portal program
of the Palace of the Governors are authentic.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
Although House Joint Memorial 62 submits no appropriation request, the creation of a Native
American Arts and Crafts Authenticity Task Force implies a recurring fiscal impact of an
indeterminate amount to the General Fund.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
House Joint Memorial contends that:
The state Indian Arts and Crafts Sales Act provides a theoretical framework for law
enforcement officials to protect the public and the Indian craftsperson under the police
powers of the state from false representation in the sale, trade, purchase or offering for
sale of Indian arts and crafts. However, the Indian Arts and Crafts Sales Act has been
rendered ineffective by a lack of resources for the investigation and prosecution of
alleged violations of that act; and
The federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act provides a theoretical framework for law
enforcement officials to protect Indian artists from unfair competition from counterfeiters
pg_0003
House Joint Memorial 62 – Page
3
and to prevent consumers from unknowingly purchasing imitation products, but few, if
any, enforcement actions have been brought pursuant to that act in New Mexico.
AG/csd