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 Sanchez, M.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/7/06

HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Utton Transboundary Resources Center

SB 156

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

400.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 351 (UNM Utton Transboundary Center Ombudsman)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 156 appropriates $400,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the Uni-

versity of New Mexico for programs at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center at the Uni-

versity of New Mexico School of Law.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $400,000 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.

According to the

Higher Education Department (HED), The Utton Transboundary Resources

Center (UTRC) is a special project that appears as a line item in the UNM budget. This program

is in addition to any Instruction and General (I&G) budget appropriations that the university re-

ceives.

As of 2/7/06, the SFC substitute for SB 415 includes $100,000 for programs at the Utton Trans-

boundary Resources Center.

Senate Bill 156 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the center’s web site at

http://uttoncenter.unm.edu/

, the Utton Transboundary Re-

sources Center carries on in the tradition of Professor Albert E. Utton to use preventive diplo-

macy and multidisciplinary research to resolve transboundary resource issues. Professor Utton, a

native New Mexican and Rhodes scholar, established an international reputation by using mul-

tidisciplinary scholarship to address complex resource issues, focusing primarily on the Rio

Bravo/Rio Grande and the Mexican-U.S. border. The Center is housed in the UNM School of

Law and works closely with the UNM Water Resources Program as well as with scholars and

practitioners from across the United States and Mexico.

HED reports that, according to UNM, the Utton Transboundary Resources Center (UTRC)

brings together experts from law, science, and public policy to resolve interjurisdictional natural

resources issues, with an emphasis on water resources along the U.S./Mexico border. The center

acts as a neutral partner in helping stakeholders gather and use data for sustainable resource

management plans, including assisting Sandia National Laboratories on a water-planning model

for the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly. Since its inception in 1986, the center has promoted

preventive diplomacy to find solutions for both national and international resource issues. Stu-

dents participate as research assistants and project organizers on all of these activities.

HED notes that for FY06 the UTRC has a total budget of $218,500 which includes two non-

recurring General Fund appropriations of $180,500 and $38,000. Overall, the budget is being

used to fund a water rights ombudsman and support general programs of the center. HED adds

that this particular request was not in the list of priority projects submitted by UNM to HED.

Consequently, this request was not reviewed nor recommended by HED for inclusion in FY07.

ML/yr