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

SPONSOR Rodella

DATE TYPED 2/08/05

HB 447

SHORT TITLE State Historic Railroad

SB

ANALYST Hadwiger

APPROPRIATION

(in $000s)

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Cultural Affairs Department

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 447 would designate the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (C&TS) as the official

historic railroad of New Mexico.

Significant Issues

In 1880, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad built a narrow-gauge stretch of rail, known

as the San Juan extension, to serve the mines of southwestern Colorado. In 1969, the railroad

extension was abandoned. In 1970, the states of Colorado and New Mexico jointly purchased

the track and line-side structures from Antonito to Chama, nine steam locomotives, over 130

freight and work cars, and the Chama yard and maintenance facility, for $547,120. The C&TS

began hauling tourists the next year. Currently, the Cumbres & Toltec operates 64 miles of that

narrow-gauge system, running between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado.

The railroad is managed for the states by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission, an

interstate agency authorized by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Compact, an act approved

by Congress on October 24, 1974. The commission is comprised of four commissioners--two

from New Mexico and two from Colorado--appointed by the governors of each state. An execu-

House Bill 447 -- Page 2

tive director administers the commission's affairs, and is the only full-time paid employee.

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is operated by the Rio Grande Railway Preservation

Corporation (RGRPC). RGRPC is a not-for-profit New Mexico Corporation formed under Arti-

cle 509 of the Internal Revenue Code as a supporting organization of the Friends of the Cumbres

& Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc. The Friends is a New Mexico Corporation registered as a public

charity under sections 501 and 509 of the Internal Revenue Code. RGRPC's mission is, as

stated in the 1974 compact between the states of Colorado and New Mexico that governs the

property, "to promote the public welfare by encouraging and facilitating recreation and by pre-

serving, as a living museum for future generations, a mode of transportation that helped in the

development and promotion of the territories and states."

The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad carries about 50,000 passengers each year from

Chama, New Mexico to San Antonito, Colorado.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There would be a minor cost for publication of documents and updating state records.

DH/sb