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

SPONSOR Park

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/1/06

HB 404

SHORT TITLE National Guard Annual Conference

SB

ANALYST Earnest

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$200.0 Non-recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Senate Bill 306, appropriating $100 thousand for the same purpose.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Tourism Department (TD)

Department of Military Affairs (DMA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 404 appropriates $200 thousand from the general fund to the Tourism Department to

support the New Mexico National Guard in hosting the US National Guard Association annual

conference in Albuquerque.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $200 thousand contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the gen-

eral fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007

shall revert to the general fund.

This appropriation is recognized as a non-recurring expense because it is tied to a one-time, an-

nual event.

House Bill 404 – Page 2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The annual conference of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) will be

held in Albuquerque in September 2006. The conference is expected to cost between $900 thou-

sand and $1 million dollars to put on, of which $400 thousand must be generated by the host

state. The New Mexico National Guard is seeking assistance through the Tourism Department to

promote the conference.

The Department of Military Affairs indicates that this conference was originally to be held in

New Orleans, LA. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the NGAUS asked New

Mexico to host the event primarily because the New Mexico Guard hosted the conference in

1997 and had the experience to organize the event in a short time frame.

The conference is attended by 3500-5000 participants and includes 700 or more defense industry

and related vendors. The event is scheduled to be conducted at the Albuquerque Convention

Center and other venues throughout the city. The conferees will occupy 2800 hotel rooms in 10

area hotels, generating 11,200 room occupancy nights over a four day period. The conference

has the potential to generate significant economic impact for Albuquerque and the surrounding

area.

The Tourism Department supports all efforts to bring visitors to New Mexico, particularly ones

with significant economic impact on communities and the state in general. NGAUS indicates the

2006 National Guard Association Conference is expected to bring between 4,000 and 4,500 visi-

tors to the Albuquerque area with an estimated $14 million impact on the local economy.

NGAUS indicates 2,200 hotel rooms are already contracted for and $75 thousand will be spent

on transportation for conference attendees.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 404 relates to Senate Bill 306, which appropriates $100 thousand to the Tourism De-

partment for the same purpose.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

According to DMA, failure to pass this legislation will have an adverse effect on conducting the

conference and will constrain the event.

BE/yr