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

SPONSOR Tsosie

DATE TYPED 2/21/05

HB

SHORT TITLE Native American Objects Belonging to the State

SB 949

ANALYST Hadwiger

APPROPRIATION

(in $000s)

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$150.0

Non-Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SB948.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department Cultural Affairs (DCA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 949 appropriates $150,000 from the general fund to the Department Cultural Affairs

(DCA) in FY06 to inventory 300 sets of human physical remains in the state archaeological re-

pository collections for the purpose of repatriation and reburial and for conservation and collec-

tion preservation of the Native American collections belonging to DCA, principally located at

the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC).

Significant Issues

The State’s collection of Native American materials is primarily located at MIAC, which has

served as the central repository for archaeological materials and human remains for nearly 65

years. It has also held and received thousands of objects that reflect the history of the State’s di-

verse Native cultures. These collections are in need of attention to appropriately stabilize them

to keep them whole and well documented for Native cultures, as well as residents and visitors to

the State.

Senate Bill 949 -- Page 2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $150,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 would revert to

the general fund.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a federal law,

passed in 1990, that gives Native American tribes control over their ancestral remains, affiliated

and unaffiliated burial objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony. SB949 would

provide DCA resources to facilitate compliance with NAGPRA. NAGPRA applies to federal

agencies and museums that receive federal funding.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to SB948 which would require that, unless otherwise designated by DCA, human re-

mains shall be reburied in a reburial cemetery unless the descendent group requests otherwise.

SB949 would provide an appropriation that would facilitate implementation of SB948 if it were

enacted. SB948 also includes an appropriation ($100,000) for this purpose.

DH/yr