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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

2/14/06

HB

SHORT TITLE

STATE FAIR RELOCATION TO VALENCIA

COUNTY

SM 47

ANALYST Hadwiger

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

none

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

No comments from agencies had been received at the time this FIR was prepared.

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Memorial 47 would request the Property Control Division (PCD) of the General Services

Department (GSD) to work in conjunction with the state fair commission to study the feasibility

of relocating the New Mexico state fair to Valencia County. The study would be presented to the

appropriate legislative interim committee no later than October 1, 2006.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

GSD would incur costs related to conducting the study, particularly for contractual services if the

study were not completed by GSD staff. A recent task force estimated it would cost $330 mil-

lion to move the State Fair versus about $150 million to modernize existing facilities.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The State Fair has had an uneasy relationship with surrounding neighborhoods for many years.

There have been complaints about increased crime, traffic, noise, parking and other concerns.

Although members of the State Fair Commission and Fair staff have maintained an active dia-

logue with nearby neighborhoods to address these concerns, this continues to be one source of

pressure to move the Fair to a new location. Proponents of moving the Fair also point out that

Senate Memorial 47 – Page 2

the current location is not easily accessible from interstate highways and that the facilities at the

current location are antiquated.

In November 2005, Governor Bill Richardson established a State Fair Task Force to do an analy-

sis of the State Fair and to determine the core mission of the Fair and Fairgrounds in order to de-

velop a plan that would reflect all of New Mexico’s traditions, while positioning the Fair to be

strong and relevant in the 21

st

century. The task force commissioned a statewide public opinion

poll on issues related to the State Fair. The poll found that 71 percent of New Mexicans sur-

veyed said to keep the Fair at its current location. The Task Force recommended that the Fair

not be relocated but that the State should make a significant capital investment into upgrading its

facilities.

Task force members included Terri Cole (Chair), Del Archuleta (Vice Chair), Bill Garcia, Bob

Goodman, Nick Knapison, David Smoak, Ed Adams, Maria Elena Alvarez, Anthony Correra,

Caren Cowan, Larry Garcia, Roland Johnson, Sandy Jones, Mick McMahan, David Norvell,

Fred Peralta, Ned Shepherd, Ron Solimon, Sheila Thomas, Bill Whittington, Bill Hume, Kathy

Domenici.

DH/mt