Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

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

SPONSOR Gutierrez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/4/06

HB 519

SHORT TITLE Taylor Reynolds Barela Mesilla State Monument

SB

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 519 appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the Cultural Affairs Department

to develop a management and interpretive plan for the Taylor Reynolds Barela Mesilla State

Monument and to fund the dedication of the monument in the fall of 2006.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

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

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the state monuments web site at

http://www.nmmonuments.org/about

,

in 2004, the

historic Barela-Reynolds House and Property in Mesilla, was designated a state monument upon

its donation to the state by the John Paul Taylor family.

An article in the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s annual report adds that, “The longtime

Doña Ana representative committed his historic nineteenth-century residence and properties on

the La Mesilla Plaza, including the 24-room Taylor family home, its extensive collection of pe-

riod New Mexican artworks and furnishings, and two adjacent 1850s commercial stores. Under

House Bill 519 – Page

2

the lead of director José Cisneros and staff, the monument will eventually feature a visitor center

and exhibits, guided tours and gift shop.

The six New Mexico state monuments are currently open to the public are:

Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner,

Coronado,

El Camino Real International Heritage Center,

Fort Selden,

Jemez and

Lincoln.

According to New Mexico Arts (a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs), at

http://www.nmarts.org/pdf/j.paul-taylor.pdf

:

“Arts advocate, educator and former State Representative J. Paul Taylor from Mesilla has

dedicated a lifetime to public service, the results of which will impact New Mexicans for genera-

tions to come. From his more than three decades with Las Cruces Public Schools (1951– 84) as a

teacher, principal and superintendent, to his membership with the Museum of New Mexico

Board of Regents (1978–84), to his 18 years in the New Mexico House of Representatives, Tay-

lor has made numerous contributions to the arts in New Mexico.

“As a State Representative in District 33, Taylor was known as a champion of programs

for New Mexico’s poor and disabled, as well as a passionate advocate for arts and culture initia-

tives.

“Taylor has been instrumental to the success of several key pieces of legislation, includ-

ing financial support to begin conservation of the retablo and ex-voto collection of the New

Mexico State University Art Gallery, considered the largest public collection of such religious

images in the United States. His support also resulted in an appropriation to preserve the state’s

considerable collection of WPA art.

“In 2002 Taylor and his wife Mary decided to bequest their historic home and property

on the plaza in Mesilla to the state to be operated as a State Monument. They will also leave to

the state their extensive collection of historic furnishings, art objects and paintings that has been

accumulated over the last 50 years. Taylor and his family’s Hispanic roots date back to the

16thcentury in New Mexico.

“The Barela-Reynolds property is part of the historic colony of La Mesilla that was estab-

lished in early 1852 by the Government of the Republic of Mexico in the aftermath of the U.S.–

Mexico War. The structures occupying the property date to the 1850s and are listed on the State

Register of Cultural Properties, the National Register of Historic Places, and are part of the Me-

silla National Historic Landmark. The Taylors’ devotion to New Mexico is well known. The

couple has raised seven children in the Mesilla home, who, their father said, ‘were involved in

the decision to gift the property and deserve credit for their generosity.’ ‘Mary and I have loved

this home, and know that the Monuments will honor it in a way we feel it deserves,’ said Taylor.

‘This also is a tribute to the lasting feelings that we Taylors have to the people of the Mesilla

community.’”

ML/nt