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

SPONSOR Cisneros

DATE TYPED 03-03-05 HB

SHORT TITLE Acequia Repartimiento Tradition Film

SB 918

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$100.0

Non-Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the appropriation to the University of New Mexico in the General Appropriations Act.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)

Office of the State Engineer (OSE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 918 – Making an Appropriation for a Documentary Film about the Repartimiento

Tradition among New Mexico Acequias – appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the

Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico for expenditure in FY06 for the Center for

Regional Studies to make a film about the repartimiento tradition among New Mexico acequias.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the gen-

eral fund.

Significant Issues

DCA indicates that acequias and the repartimiento system are integral parts of Northern New

Mexico traditions and are still being utilized in some regions; further, that it is not aware of any

existing audio-visual works documenting acequias and the repartimiento system. Books and

photographic works for an adult audience have been published over the years, and a documen-

tary film could be used as a companion to the books or as a teaching tool for K-12 children.

DCA adds that acequia masters [mayordomos] are still in possession of the old records, some

dating back to the nineteenth century. While not many acequia groups are willing to part with

Senate Bill 918 -- Page 2

the old documents, if a film documentary is produced, a side aspect could be to document the

holdings of the various groups by possibly duplicating their records and depositing them at either

the University of New Mexico Library or the New Mexico State Library. DCA concludes with

the following observation:

With urbanization encroaching into the rural areas of Northern New Mexico,

fewer and fewer acequias are used, and fewer men and women are willing to par-

ticipate in the communal tasks to keep the acequias clean and running. It would

be worthwhile to document this tradition before it disappears all together.

CHE advises that this request was not in the list of priority projects submitted by the University

of New Mexico to the commission for review. Accordingly, this request was not included in the

commission’s funding recommendation for FY06.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general

fund allocated for expenditure in FY06. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at

the end of FY06 shall revert to the general fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The University of New Mexico would retain oversight of this project.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to the appropriation to the University of New Mexico in the General Appropriations Act.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

CHE notes that the Southwest Hispanic Research Center’s Center for Regional Studies (CRS)

has conducted a long list of activities, including initiating and coordinating the development of

interdisciplinary research projects by university faculty who specialize in southwestern and His-

panic studies; sponsoring lecture series, symposia, research competitions, colloquia, and confer-

ences on timely issues critical to the growing Hispanic regional population; and disseminating

research and other project outcomes by way of working papers, monographs, public exhibitions,

and video documentaries.

BFW/yr