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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Taylor
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1-26-06
HB
SHORT TITLE Historic Inventory of Cemeteries
SB 142
ANALYST Segura
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$75.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)
SUMMARY
Senate Bill 142 appropriates $75.0 to the Historic Preservation Division of the DCA to make an
inventory of cemeteries in the state for preservation purposes.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
Senate Bill 142 appropriates $75.0 from the general fund and is recurring. Any unexpended or
unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY07 shall revert to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to DCA, hundreds of rural and abandoned cemeteries across the state are endangered
or destroyed because there is an assumption that all cemeteries are known and cared for. In fact,
cemeteries fade from memory and are being rediscovered due to the increasing rate of housing
construction or infrastructure upgrades. Currently, there is no inventory that can be consulted by
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Senate Bill 142 – Page 2
community planners or the public to avoid impacts to cemeteries that have lost their caretakers or
their markers. No database or website exist to make such an inventory useful to genealogists, his-
torians, families, and communities about the layout and location of cemeteries and the historical
information conveyed on tombstones and the cultural practices of grave decoration.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The Historic Preservation Division is charged, under the Cultural Properties Act, 18-6-1 through
18-6-23, NMSA 1978, with the preservation of cultural properties, the maintenance and expan-
sion of statewide historic and prehistoric site databases, and the protection of unmarked burials
in conjunction with permits issued by the Cultural Properties Review Committee.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The DCA indicates that enactment of Senate bill 142 will have administrative and staffing impli-
cations and request a percentage of the overall funding for administrative costs.
RS/mt:nt