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SPONSOR: |
Cisneros |
DATE TYPED: |
03/05/03 |
HB |
|
||
SHORT TITLE: |
NM Tech Water Efficiency Technology Study |
SB |
452 |
||||
|
ANALYST: |
Williams |
|||||
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
||
FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
|
|
|
$50.0 |
|
|
Recurring |
General
Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to HB 96, HB 97, HB 233, HB 260, HJM 4,
SB 8, SB 66, SB 67, SB 385
LFC Files
Commission on Higher Education (CHE)
Office of the State Engineer
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
Senate Bill 452
appropriates $50.0 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents at New Mexico
Institute of Mining and Technology for the purpose of studying and reporting on
least-cost water efficiency technologies, policies and management of drinking
water systems. NMIMT is required to
report findings and recommendations annually to the Legislature by December 1.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of
$50.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY04 shall revert to
the General Fund.
The Geophysical Research
Center (GRC) at NMIMT was established in 1965 to conduct water research,
specifically atmospheric, surface and underground water. The LFC budget recommendation for FY04 for
GRC is $802.1, down five percent from the FY03 level.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
Office of the State Engineer note results of the
studies should be provided to water administrators.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
CHE notes the GRC
submitted an expansion request for $220.8 for FY04, but CHE did not recommend
funding for the expansion. The activities
identified in Senate Bill 452 were not included in that request.
In 2000, the GRC was
evaluated by the CHE and received a rating of Tier I, exceeding expectations. The next evaluation will occur in 2004.
According to CHE, GRC
could use indirect cost revenues from federal contracts and grants for this
purpose. The state’s higher education
funding formula allows institutions to retain all of these revenues, in part to
provide seed money and matching funds for this type of project.
AW/njw