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

SPONSOR Begaye

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/8/2006

HB 787

SHORT TITLE Tribal Land Forensic Investigation

SB

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to: HB 526, SB 697

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

Department of Health (DOH)

Department of Public Safety (DPS)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 787 appropriates $250,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico for the Office of the State Medical Investigator (OMI) for expendi-

ture in FY 2007 to conduct forensic investigations and related services as requested by Indian

nations, tribes, or pueblos in New Mexico.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund. .

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2007 shall revert to the

General Fund.

House Bill 787 - Page 2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) is department of the University of New Mexico’s

School of Medicine, which is also under the oversight of the UNM Board of Regents. There is

also a Board of Medical Investigators consisting of the of the Dean of the School of Medicine,

the Secretary for the Department of Health, the Chief of the New Mexico State Police, the

Chairman of the New Mexico Board of Thanatopractice, and the Director of the New Mexico

Office of Indian Affairs. (NMSA 24-11-1, et seq.)

OMI provides forensic investigation and other services to state law enforcement, counties and

municipalities for “no fee” as a state entity because of the criminal jurisdiction that state law en-

forcement officers have in investigating death related incidences. They are the only state foren-

sic investigation entity in New Mexico. There are 22 Indian Tribes and Pueblos within the state

of New Mexico. The sovereign status of federally recognized Indian tribes precludes most states

from exercising criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country over Indian persons. As a result, OMI

charges “consultation” fees for their services to Indian tribes and pueblos. These “consultation

fees” are a financial burden to these tribes.

RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 697 creates a tribal forensic investigation fund to be administered by the Secretary of

Indian Affairs to pay for extraordinary and unusual services provided by the Office of the Medi-

cal Investigator.

The Executive Budget includes fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) from the General Fund for the

Indian Affairs Department and the Office of the Medical Investigator to conduct forensic inves-

tigations and related services.

House Bill 526 is a virtual, but not exact, duplication of HB 787. The content is the same but the

word order is slightly changed.

BMC/nt:mt