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

SPONSOR Taylor

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1-26-06

HB

SHORT TITLE Historic Inventory of Cemeteries

SB 142

ANALYST Segura

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$75.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)

SUMMARY

Senate Bill 142 appropriates $75.0 to the Historic Preservation Division of the DCA to make an

inventory of cemeteries in the state for preservation purposes.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Senate Bill 142 appropriates $75.0 from the general fund and is recurring. Any unexpended or

unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY07 shall revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to DCA, hundreds of rural and abandoned cemeteries across the state are endangered

or destroyed because there is an assumption that all cemeteries are known and cared for. In fact,

cemeteries fade from memory and are being rediscovered due to the increasing rate of housing

construction or infrastructure upgrades. Currently, there is no inventory that can be consulted by

Senate Bill 142 – Page 2

community planners or the public to avoid impacts to cemeteries that have lost their caretakers or

their markers. No database or website exist to make such an inventory useful to genealogists, his-

torians, families, and communities about the layout and location of cemeteries and the historical

information conveyed on tombstones and the cultural practices of grave decoration.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The Historic Preservation Division is charged, under the Cultural Properties Act, 18-6-1 through

18-6-23, NMSA 1978, with the preservation of cultural properties, the maintenance and expan-

sion of statewide historic and prehistoric site databases, and the protection of unmarked burials

in conjunction with permits issued by the Cultural Properties Review Committee.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The DCA indicates that enactment of Senate bill 142 will have administrative and staffing impli-

cations and request a percentage of the overall funding for administrative costs.

RS/mt:nt