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

SPONSOR Cervantes

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/26/06

1/27/06 HB 400

SHORT TITLE Dona Ana County Court Consolidation Plan

SB

ANALYST McSherry

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$100.0

Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House bill 400 appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the Administrative Office of the

Courts for the purpose of funding a “step-by-step” implementation plan for court consolidation

and creation of a metropolitan court in Doņa Ana County.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

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

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

eral fund.

AOC cites the proposed amount of $100 thousand included in this bill as the amount estimated

for the proposed implementation plan study by the 2005 legislative session-created “consolida-

tion committee” and substantiated by the National Center for State Courts.

The “Consolidation Committee” made preliminary cost estimates the consolidation of the Dis-

trict, magistrate and municipal courts in Doņa Ana County. This preliminary estimate was $11.0

House Bill 400 – Page

2

million total; The budget of all magistrate courts in the (including Doņa Ana) in the state was

$3.9 million. The consolidation committee did not determine the cost of operations for the mu-

nicipal courts in Doņa Ana County.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

A metropolitan court, according to statute, is created in a class A county with more than 200,000

persons in the last federal decennial census. Doņa Ana County has an estimated 2004 population

of 186,095, a 6.5 percent increase over the U.S. Census Bureau population estimate in 2000. If

the same rate of growth continues, Doņa Ana will have approximately 198,191 residents in 2008

and 211,073 residents in 2012.

According to the consolidation committee initial estimates, consolidation of the courts would

cost several million more funds on a net bases (more than operating costs funded by the city of

Las Cruces and others along with the cost of the Doņa Ana magistrates), and cost the state sev-

eral million more/year than current magistrate operation in Doņa Ana County.

AOC reports that the “consolidation study committee” met monthly during the interim months

since the last legislative session and determined it was feasible to consolidate the Las Cruces

Municipal Court and some, if not all, of the outlying municipal courts in the Doņa Ana County

and the Doņa Ana Magistrate Court.

Legislative Session 2005 Senate Bill 831 provided for a consolidation committee charged with

the responsibility to “investigate and evaluate the effectiveness and judicial efficiency of com-

munity-based judicial systems in other areas and determine the feasibility of creating a consoli-

dated system in the Doņa Ana county court system.”

The committee reviewed the following types of information:

1.

The population of Doņa Ana County

2.

The existing court facilities in Doņa Ana: four municipal courts (Las Cruces, Sunland

Park, Mesilla, and Hatch), Doņa Ana magistrate court (Las Cruces) and two circuit courts

(Anthony and Hatch)

3.

The number of judges in Doņa Ana: 4.5 municipal judges and 5 in the magistrate court

4.

Source of funds for technology (Municipal courts from the Municipal Court Automation

Fee, magistrates from the Judicial Information Division under AOC and Bernalillo

County Metropolitan Court, internally)

5.

Case filings: in FY05 Las Cruces Municipal Court, 24,229; All Doņa Ana Magistrates,

21,596; and Bernalillo Metropolitan Court, 135,495;

6.

Estimated annual budget ($11 million)

7.

Survey results regarding the issue from local court users.

The determination by the committee that consolidation was feasible was reached without citation

of which information reviewed (all, particular parts, the combination of 2 or 3 factors.) led to the

recommendation.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The consolidation committee estimates suggest fewer judges may be needed in a Doņa Ana

County Metropolitan Court than the combined number in the municipal and magistrate courts.

House Bill 400 – Page

3

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The NM Supreme Court has taken no position on this legislation and the Magistrate Judges As-

sociation is opposed to the legislation.

Nearly 2/5 of survey respondents characterized the facility they use most often as “poor” or

“very poor;” These responses may be referring to the magistrate court facility which was ap-

propriated new funding starting in FY06 to rent a new building (to be built or leased).

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

An appropriation to hire a professional consultant to develop a step-by-step procedure implemen-

tation plan will not be made.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1.

What was the recommendation of the consolidation study committee based upon.

2.

Were respondents surveyed aware of the estimated costs the committee has made regard-

ing the proposed consolidation.

3.

If this proposal is adopted, should the $500 thousand appropriated in FY06 for a new

Doņa Ana magistrate facility be repealed until it is determined whether Doņa Ana will

need a new magistrate or rather a new metropolitan court.

EM/mt