HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 15

46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004

INTRODUCED BY

Miguel P. Garcia

FOR THE LAND GRANT COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE STATE OWNS LANDS THAT PREVIOUSLY WERE COMMON LANDS OF A SPANISH OR MEXICAN LAND GRANT-MERCED.

     WHEREAS, community land grants-mercedes have existed in New Mexico since the beginning of Spanish settlement in the early sixteenth century; and

     WHEREAS, many land grants-mercedes lost control of the community lands of the original grants through dishonest, unjust or illegal means; and

     WHEREAS, the rights, privileges and immunities guaranteed to the people of New Mexico by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo are preserved inviolate by the constitution of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the Protocol of Queretaro preserves the legal values of the land grants-mercedes possessed by the heirs, notwithstanding the striking of Article X of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in ratification;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the office of cultural affairs and the office of the attorney general, in connection with other federal or state agencies, conduct a study to determine the extent to which lands that were formally part of the common lands of a land grant-merced now belong to the state and how the land was obtained or acquired by the state and report the results of the study to the legislature not later than November 1, 2004; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, if the facts show that land that was once a part of the common lands of a land grant-merced was obtained through dishonest, unjust or illegal means and is now owned by the state, the office of cultural affairs and the office of the attorney general determine what actions are required for the land to be returned to the heirs of the land grant-merced; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the office of cultural affairs and the office of the attorney general.

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