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

SPONSOR Nava

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2-5-06

2-8-06 HB

SHORT TITLE School District 40-year Water Plans

SB 61/aSEC

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

NFI

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Office of the State Engineer-Interstate Stream Commission (OSE)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SEC Amendment

Senate Education Committee amendment to SB61 amends the legislation as follows:

•

On page 2, line 2, strike ", schools".

•

On page 2, line 12, strike ", schools".

•

On page 2, line 17, strike ", schools".,

Senate Education Committee amendment to SB61 adds no appropriation to the legislation.

Synopsis of Original Bill

Senate Bill 61, relating to water, amends a section of the NMSA 1978 to extend eligibility for the

forty-year water use planning period to school districts.

Specifically, the legislation seeks to amend section 72-1-9 NMSA 1978 to extend eligibility for

the 40-year planning period to school districts. School district will be able to acquire future wa-

ter rights if they can demonstrate the need within their water development plan.

There is no appropriation attached to this legislation.

Senate Bill 61/aSEC – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Public Education Department (PED) notes that pursuant to section 72-1-1, NMSA 1978 all

natural waters within the State of New Mexico belong to the public and are subject to appropria-

tion for beneficial use. Further, that the future water needs of the state can be met by allowing

each region of the state to plan for its future water. The state can also assist regions in planning

future water use by implementing a state appropriation program as reflected in each region’s wa-

ter use plan. The legislation, PED suggests, will allow school districts to implement a water de-

velopment plan for an appropriation or change of place or purpose of use pursuant to the plan.

PED additionally indicates that, pursuant to section 22-24-5 section 9d NMSA 1978, a school

district must submit a five-year facilities master plan before grant assistance shall be approved by

the Public School Capital Outlay Council, and that a school district may acquire additional costs

in order to implement a water development plan.

Office of the State Engineer-Interstate Stream Commission (OSE) offers a number of observa-

tions, including:

•

It is the OSE’s estimate that there are over 100 school districts that may be af-

fected by this change. It is unclear how many of these districts currently hold

water rights unused.

•

It is not uncommon for school districts to obtain their potable water from mu-

nicipal systems (covered entities). The school districts will provide water rights

to supply the outdoor water needs for aesthetic purposes and athletic fields. This

would potentially complicate the 40-year analysis to appropriately separate the

potable component from the outdoor component.

•

The initial intent of the 72-1-9 statue was to ensure adequate water resources for

“municipal” needs (including domestic, institutional, commercial and industrial

uses). While it is not entirely inconsistent, the purposed amendment seems to

stretch the intent of the statue. Since a large portion of the water needs are for

landscaping and athletic fields, these needs can be greatly reduced though appro-

priate planning. Low water use landscape principles can provide aesthetically

pleasing landscapes, while greatly reducing the need for outdoor water compared

to traditional lawns. Also, the advent of high tech artificial turf for athletic fields,

natural grass is less critical than in the recent past.

•

Some proponents of this bill have argued that public school districts are similar

to Universities. They conclude that since Universities are covered by the 72-1-9

statue, school districts should enjoy the same status. For the purpose of this

statue, this analogy is not correct. Universities are institutions with different ob-

ligations and missions. For example, they are large campuses that provide year

round living amenities, attracting people from all parts of the state. To plan for

growth within these systems is akin to municipal and counties and other covered

entities in terms of size and scope. Contrast this with most school districts that

only need to provide basic facilities for sanitary, cafeteria, and (potentially)

locker rooms and outdoor water use. The potential future water demands be-

tween the two systems are great.

Senate Bill 61/aSEC – Page

3

•

In addition to amending § 72-1-9 to add school districts as entities covered by

that statute, SB 61 also adds public utilities supplying water to schools as cov-

ered entities. See page 2, lines 3, 13, and 18. These provisions of SB 61 appear

to go beyond the intent advocated by the bill’s proponents of assisting schools

and school districts that themselves hold water rights. OSE suggests an amend-

ment [included below] to address this concern.

OSE concludes by suggesting that “this legislation does not provide a substitute solution for the

real problem, which is school districts must, like all other entities, acquire water rights in the

market place because, in general, there is no unappropriated water available for new appropria-

tions.”

AMENDMENTS

OSE suggests the following amendments to the legislation:

1. On page 2, line 3, after the word “municipalities, delete the word “schools”.

2. On page 2, line 13, after the word “municipalities,” delete the word “schools”.

3. On page 2, line 18, after the word “municipalities,” delete the word “schools”.

BW/yr