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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Martinez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2-3-06

2-6-06 HB 540/aHGUAC

SHORT TITLE Soil and Water District Official Insurance

SB

ANALYST Hadwiger

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB613, except for HGUAC amendment.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA)

General Services Department (GSD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HGUAC Amendment

The House Government & Urban Affairs Committee amendment to House Bill 540 would al-

lowed elected and appointed supervisors of soil and water conservation districts and their de-

pendents to participate in state group insurance programs if they pay 100 percent of the cost.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 540 would allow elected supervisors of soil and water conservation districts and their

dependents to participate in state group insurance programs if they pay one hundred percent of

the cost of the insurance.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

GSD noted that Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) employees and their covered de-

pendents currently participate in the State of New Mexico Group Health Plan. The addition of

House Bill 540/aHGUAC – Page 2

elected supervisors will have minimal impact on the overall Group Health claims cost. Any im-

pact will be offset by the additional premiums paid for by the population.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

NMDA was concerned that the word “elected” on page 2 line 2 of the original bill might exclude

appointed supervisors pursuant to Section 73-20-38 NMSA 1978. NMDA noted that SWCD

boards are made up of five elected supervisor positions at the least. Many SWCD boards have

an additional two appointed supervisor positions at the request of the district or at the pleasure of

the soil and water conservation commission. Elected positions which become vacant are filled

by appointment of the local SWCD board. There are currently forty-seven soil and water con-

servation districts in the state. The HGUAC amendment addresses this concern to include ap-

pointed as well as elected supervisors.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

GSD did not anticipate difficulty implementing this bill.

DH/yr