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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Hanosh
DATE TYPED 2/25/05
HB 988
SHORT TITLE Rio San Jose Adjudication Settlement Project
SB
ANALYST Aguilar
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
FY05
FY06
$600.0
Recurring General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to HB 299
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Office of the State Engineer (OSE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 988 appropriates $600 thousand from the general fund to the University of New Mex-
ico for the purpose of establishing and administering the Rio San Jose adjudication settlement
pilot project.
Significant Issues
Through this proposed three-year pilot project, the University of New Mexico would educate
water rights claimants in the San Jose stream system about “the technical and scientific aspects
of the adjudication, the adjudication process, the judicial process, communication skills, media-
tion, negotiation, effective settlements, the legal basis for each group’s claims and the different
cultural approaches to water use and management.”
The State Engineer reports there is no guarantee that the water rights claimants who participate
in the proposed pilot project will still be around when the Court begins to adjudicate non-Indian
water rights in the San Jose adjudication.