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

SPONSOR SJC

DATE TYPED 2/22/05 HB

SHORT TITLE Sustainable Development Testing Site Act

SB 417/SJCS/aSJC

ANALYST Wilson

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SJC Amendment

The Senate Judiciary Committee amendment to SJCS for Senate Bill 417 changes the definition

of a permittee from a person who holds a testing site permit to an entity who holds a testing site

permit.

Synopsis of Original Bill

The Senate Judiciary Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 417 enacts the Sustainable Develop-

ment Testing Site Act. The purpose of this act is to allow counties, after review by appropriate

state agencies, to permit specific rural areas as "sustainable development testing sites" in which

concepts and inventions related to residential sustainable development, including energy, hous-

ing, water harvesting, sewage treatment, food production and bio fuel production, can be tested

to the point of failure under conditions involving actual year-round inhabitants on the site, all of

whom have signed an acknowledgment that they have read a disclosure statement about the sus-

tainable development testing site.

The bill requires a county planning commission to

set a date, not less than ninety days

or more than one hundred twenty days after receipt of the application, for a public hearing on a

testing site application. It requires a county planning commission to broadcast on local radio an

announcement that it has received such an application; this is in addition to a notice being pub-

lished in a local newspaper of general circulation. The bill establishes a maximum term for any

Senate Bill 417/SJCS/aSJC -- Page 2

sustainable development testing site permit to be issued by a planning commission; the term is

set at five years, subject to renewable for another five-year period. The bill has language author-

izing inspectors from the ED or other state agencies to enter a testing site without signing an ac-

knowledgement that the person has read a disclosure statement about the site.

The bill requires the county planning commission to render its decision in writing within two

weeks after the hearing. If the planning commission decides to issue a testing site permit it must

first determine that the applicant is in receipt of the appropriate permit or approval issued by the

SEO and that no state or local agency, evaluating the sustainable development testing site appli-

cation has determined the site or sustainable development research proposed to be conducted at

the site will damage land, water or air adjacent to the site or will permanently damage the area of

the site; no existing federal laws, regulations or permits or state environmental laws, regulations

or permits will be violated by the proposed sustainable development research at the site; the pro-

posed sustainable development research at the site is beneficial to sustainable development; and

the site and proposed sustainable development research are otherwise beneficial to the county

and to the state.

Significant Issues

This bill provides a mechanism by which a residential developer can be permitted to legally test

under real-life conditions innovative concepts, ideas and technologies that may conserve finite

natural resources and lessen the environmental impact of human habitation and that would be

prohibited by existing laws, ordinances or rules. Such state and local laws effectively preclude

or discourage such testing. The bill establishes a testing framework and process with appropriate

safeguards, external oversight, and other protections, thereby advancing sustainable development

in New Mexico.

This bill clarifies the roles and regulatory authorities of the Office of the State Engineer (OSE)

and the ED in the permitting of a sustainable development testing site under the ct. For example,

any application for such a testing site will forwarded to the OSE for review and comment; and

the OSE will be required to determine whether the applicant had received necessary water right

permits or other approval. The bill also clarifies that any testing site will be subject to all appli-

cable the ED environmental protection regulations such as those governing air and water quality.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

County officials will have to administrate the provisions of this bill as part of ongoing responsi-

bilities.

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