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

SPONSOR M.P. Garcia

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/19/07

01/24/07 HB 120/aHGAC

SHORT TITLE Confirm Tecolote Land Grant Status

SB

ANALYST Wilson

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Attorney General’s Office (AGO)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HGAC Amendment

The House Health and Government Affairs Committee amendment removes language stating

that general land grant statutes do not apply to land grants governed by specific statutes (such as

the Tecolote Land Grant) and language applying general land grant laws to a land grant governed

by a specific

statute if a majority of the members of the board of trustees determines that those

statutes are no longer beneficial to the land grant-merced. The board has the authority to request

the legislature to repeal or to amend those statutes to conform with the governing statutes

relating to any land grant-merced and to be governed by its bylaws or the conforming statutes.

The amendment removed and did not replace confusing language since it was unclear whether

the intent of the language was to apply the general land grant statutes to land grants having

specific statutes, if those land grants request the legislature amend their specific statutes to

conform with the general laws, or whether the intent was to maintain separate general and

specific laws.

House Bill 120 /aHGAC– Page

2

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 120 modifies, expands and repeals existing statutes relating to the management of the

Tecolote Land Grant. The bill designates the Tecolote Land Grant as a political subdivision of

the state; describes the powers of the Board of Trustees; sets qualifications for Board members;

designates election dates, voter qualifications and registration; provides for meetings of the

Board; imposes restrictions on the sale or mortgage of land grant lands; provides for court

actions for ejecting and removal of people claiming lands within the land grant who have no

right or title to that land “in the opinion of the board"; provides for removal of trustees; and

generally elaborates on existing statutory rights, obligations, powers and duties of board

members and land grant heirs.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Tecolote Land Grant, located near Las Vegas New Mexico, was granted a patent by

Congress in 1858, which was filed in 1903. The patent recognized that the land grant was a

community land grant containing common land for the use of all heirs of the original members of

the Town of Tecolote.

According to minutes of the Legislature’s Land Grant Committee dated November 2-3, 2005,

land grant heirs are concerned about provisions in current law that allow non-heirs to vote for

and be elected to the Board of Trustees.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The AGO provided the following:

Aside from amending statutes which specifically govern the Tecolote Land Grant, the bill also

amends NMSA Section 49-1-2 which defines the applicability of “general" land grant statutes. If

the bill is enacted, state law would continue to provide that the general land grant statutes do not

apply to land grants governed by specific statutes (such as the Tecolote Land Grant), but would

add language applying those general laws if the land grant “complies with the provisions of

subsection B" and requests the legislature amend its specific statutes to conform to the general

statutes. This amendment is confusing, since it is unclear whether the intent is to apply the

general land grant statutes to land grants having specific statutes, if those land grants request the

legislature amend their specific statutes to conform with the general laws, or whether the intent is

to maintain separate general and specific laws.

DW/mt:csd