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

SPONSOR Campos

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2-11-06 HB

SHORT TITLE Environmental Education and Tree Planting

SB 604

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

NFI

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 604 seeks to appropriate $100,000 from the general fund to the Forestry Division of

the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department for expenditure in fiscal year 2007 for

environmental education and tree planting programs. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance

remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) indicates that this legislation

recognizes the importance of trees and environmental education to New Mexico and its young

citizens. The Division has two programs that focus on tree planting and environmental educa-

tion:

•

New Mexico Forest Re-Leaf, which provides grants to municipalities, schools,

and organizations for tree planting projects. The purpose of the Re-Leaf Pro-

Senate Bill 604 – Page

2

gram is to educate the public and help protect the environment by encouraging

and arranging for the planting of trees throughout the state by children, stu-

dents, parents, schools, civic and community groups.

•

Conservation Seedling Program that distributes seedlings for conservation and

environmental education plantings through the Division’s six district offices, as

well as to interested landowners who want to plant trees for conservation pur-

poses. For well over forty years the division has sold low cost seedlings to

landowners to plant for wildfire rehabilitation, riparian restoration, erosion con-

trol, windbreaks as well as other conservation purposes.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The Division’s New Mexico Forest Re-Leaf Program is responsible for coordinating and imple-

menting most of the Division’s tree planting projects and would be tasked with implementing the

majority of this project.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Forestry Division would generate agreements to implement the majority of this tree planting

and environmental education program. Therefore, administrative implications include an in-

creased workload for division and department program managers, as well as legal, contract and

fiscal staff.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

EMNRD suggests that both the New Mexico Forest Re-Leaf Program and the Division’s Con-

servation Planting Program’s funds reside in the Conservation Planting Fund. The Conservation

Planting Fund consists of money appropriated to the fund by the legislature, all receipts from the

sale of trees and any other revenues. Expenditures are made from this fund for the purpose of

purchasing, selling or distributing trees to New Mexico landowners, schools, civic or community

groups. Money in the conservation planting revolving fund does not revert to the general fund.

The Conservation Planting Fund would be the desired fund for this appropriation to be directed.

AMENDMENTS

EMNRD recommends the funding be appropriated to the EMNRD – Forestry Division’s Conser-

vation Planting Revolving Fund.

BW/mt