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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Lopez
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
01/31/07
HB
SHORT TITLE Create Court of Appeals Building Commission
SB 102
ANALYST Hanika Ortiz
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08
FY09 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$.01
see narrative
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Public Defender Department (PDD)
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
General Services Department (GSD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 102 creates a commission within the judicial branch to oversee the design,
construction and maintenance of a Court of Appeals building.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
It is assumed that any travel and per diem expenses of Commission members be paid from
existing court budgets. Members of the commission will receive reimbursement only as provided
in the Per Diem and Mileage Act and will receive no other compensation. SB 102 voids any
contract relating to the construction, equipment or maintenance of the court of appeals building
made in violation of that rule.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Commission is to be composed of the chief judge of the court of appeals, the chief clerk of
the court of appeals; one member of the Supreme Court appointed by the chief justice of the
Supreme Court; and two public members with architectural or engineering expertise appointed
by the chief judge of the court of appeals. The Commission will provide for the design,
construction, maintenance, repair, cleaning, heating, cooling and lighting of the court of appeals
pg_0002
Senate Bill 102 – Page
2
building and subject to legislative appropriation, hire employees as necessary.
The creation of this commission will ensure that the Supreme Court is kept informed about and
have oversight with respect to the design, construction and maintenance of the Court of Appeals
Annex at UNM, as a justice is a member of the commission. It will also ensure that individuals
with expertise in architecture and engineering are available to provide guidance to the Court of
Appeals on issues related to the design, construction and maintenance of the Annex, since two
members of the commission are required to possess such expertise.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
There is a Supreme Court Building Commission that oversees that facility. The Judicial Branch
of government is exempt from the Property Control Division of the GSD. The Judicial Branch is
represented on the Capitol Buildings Planning Commission, which is chaired by the Secretary of
General Services, and planning related to court facilities in Santa Fe and Albuquerque is within
the purview of that commission.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Duplicates HB 350
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the state of New Mexico. It sits
between district courts and certain administrative agencies, which are below it, and the New
Mexico Supreme Court, which is above it. Its jurisdiction covers the entire state. The Court of
Appeals currently reviews appeals in all cases, except criminal cases involving sentences of
death or life imprisonment, appeals from the Public Regulation Commission, and cases involving
habeas corpus. The Court's caseload is about 900 cases per year.
The Court has two offices, one in Santa Fe and one in Albuquerque. At this time, the Court's ten
judges are located as follows: six judges headquartered in Santa Fe and four judges
headquartered in Albuquerque. The Santa Fe office is in the Supreme Court Building and is the
main location of the clerk's office, the prehearing division, and the mediation office. The
Albuquerque office is located adjacent to the University Of New Mexico School Of Law.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
Court of Appeals facilities would fall under jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, as head of the
Judicial Branch.
AHO/mt