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

SPONSOR Altamirano

DATE TYPED 2/03/05

HB

SHORT TITLE Increase Game and Fish License Fees

SB 77

ANALYST Aguilar

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

Indeterminate

Indeterminate Recurring Game Protection Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Conflicts with HB-47, SB-16, SB-336

REVENUE

Estimated Revenue

Subsequent

Years Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

$1,500.0

$4,500.0 Recurring

Game Protection Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Game and Fish (DGF)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 77 raises license fees for resident, nonresident and temporary hunting and fishing li-

censes, removes obsolete license descriptions, provides for a junior-senior general hunting li-

cense, a junior-senior elk license and clarifies a license type.

Senate Bill 77 -- Page 2

Significant Issues

The Department of Game and Fish generates the majority of its revenue through the sale of hunt-

ing and fishing licenses, with fees fixed by statute. Inflation and appropriations for nonrecurring

projects have caused overall expenditures to surpass revenues, reducing cash balances in the

Game Protection Fund. This has produced a situation where increasing revenue has become a

priority. Increasing license fees is one way the department has identified to generate additional

revenue. In recent years, the game protection fund has provided opportunities for the department

to complete several projects, such as the construction of its headquarters building, construction

of fish hatcheries and the purchase of Eagle Nest Lake. Current estimates show that the fund is

declining to a critical level. Revenues to the department are off from October through March

requiring a minimum cash balance of $6 million. Department estimates indicate the fund may

fall below this threshold by the end of FY07.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Since license fees are directly tied to the amount of revenue that the Department derives to fulfill

its mandates, this bill has significant performance implications. In order to continue providing

services at the current level, the agency must have sufficient income to keep up with inflationary

effects on operating costs such as; gasoline, employee salaries and benefits, changes in per diem

rates, utilities, etc. If the Department does not obtain a change in fees or some other form of

revenue enhancement, it will not have the resources to operate at the level used to establish target

levels for performance measures.

One of the agency’s performance measures is based on the percentage of special drawing li-

censes issued to New Mexico resident applicants. Increasing fees for nonresident applicants will

potentially decrease the overall number of nonresident applicants, possibly increasing the num-

ber of licenses drawn by residents.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

At current sales levels, the changes proposed in this bill will generate an additional $4.5 million

in annual license sales revenue for the Department of Game and Fish. This will allow the agency

to continue operating at current levels. Without the proposed increase, current cash balances will

only sustain the agency’s operations through fiscal year 2007.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

If passed, the Department would implement this amendment on April 1, 2006. This will allow

for printed materials and computer systems to be updated to reflect the amended fees.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 77 conflicts with HB-47, SB-16, SB-336. All of these bills relate to the list of license

fees.

PA/sb