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

SPONSOR Salazar

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/8/06

HB 665

SHORT TITLE Acequia Commission Operations

SB

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

130.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to

SB 706 (Acequia Restoration & Rehabilitation Fund)

Relates to HJM 65/SJM 68 (Importance of Acequia Culture)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Office of the State Engineer and Interstate Stream Commission (OSE/ISC)

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 665 appropriates $130,000 from the general fund to the Acequia Commission to pay

for operations of the commission.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $130,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

House Bill 665 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA),

the Acequia Commission, a

body appointed by the Governor to serve the interests of the hundreds of acequias operating

around the state, has found the need to hire consultants to increase its effectiveness in advising

both the Governor and the Legislature on acequia-related matters, as well as advocating on be-

half of the acequias themselves.

The DFA notes that the Legislature appropriated $42,000 for the current fiscal year.

The Office of the State Engineer and Interstate Stream Commission (OSE/ISC)

notes that the

Acequia Commission was created under New Mexico statute 73-2-65 with

11 Members, each of

whom “shall own land irrigated from an acequia or community ditch organized pursuant to a

ditch or acequia statute.”

The statute requires that the Acequia Commission shall:

A.

provide advice and assist the Governor, Legislature, Office of the State Engineer and Inter-

state Stream Commission and the United States Army Corps of Engineers in establishing

acequia and community ditch rehabilitation priorities and other acequia and community

ditch matters;

B.

serve as a facilitator for communication between acequia and community ditch associations

and state and federal agencies; and

C.

review and comment on any plan or legislation affecting acequias or community ditches to

the Governor, the Legislature, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Interstate Stream Com-

mission.

ML/nt