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

SPONSOR Park

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/27/07

HB 350

SHORT TITLE Create Court of Appeals Building Commission

SB

ANALYST Hanika Ortiz

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 102

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Defender Department (PDD)

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

General Services Department (GSD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 350 creates a commission within the judicial branch to oversee the design,

construction and maintenance of a Court of Appeals building.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

It is assumed that any travel and per diem expenses of Commission members be paid from

existing court budgets. Members of the commission will receive reimbursement only as provided

in the Per Diem and Mileage Act and will receive no other compensation. HB 350 voids any

contract relating to the construction, equipment or maintenance of the court of appeals building

made in violation of that rule.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Commission is to be composed of the chief judge of the court of appeals, the chief clerk of

House Bill 350 – Page

2

the court of appeals; one member of the Supreme Court appointed by the chief justice of the

Supreme Court; and two public members with architectural or engineering expertise appointed

by the chief judge of the court of appeals.

The Commission will provide for the design, construction, maintenance, repair, cleaning,

heating, cooling and lighting of the court of appeals building and subject to legislative

appropriation, hire employees as necessary.

The creation of this commission will ensure that the Supreme Court is kept informed about and

have oversight with respect to the design, construction and maintenance of the Court of Appeals

Annex at UNM, as a justice is a member of the commission. It will also ensure that individuals

with expertise in architecture and engineering are available to provide guidance to the Court of

Appeals on issues related to the design, construction and maintenance of the Annex, since two

members of the commission are required to possess such expertise.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

There is a Supreme Court Building Commission that oversees that facility. The Judicial Branch

of government is exempt from the Property Control Division of the GSD. The Judicial Branch is

represented on the Capitol Buildings Planning Commission, which is chaired by the Secretary of

General Services, and planning related to court facilities in Santa Fe and Albuquerque is within

the purview of that commission.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Duplicates SB 102

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the state of New Mexico. It sits

between district courts and certain administrative agencies, which are below it, and the New

Mexico Supreme Court, which is above it. Its jurisdiction covers the entire state. The Court of

Appeals currently reviews appeals in all cases, except criminal cases involving sentences of

death or life imprisonment, appeals from the Public Regulation Commission, and cases involving

habeas corpus. The Court's caseload is about 900 cases per year.

The Court has two offices, one in Santa Fe and one in Albuquerque. At this time, the Court's ten

judges are located as follows: six judges headquartered in Santa Fe and four judges

headquartered in Albuquerque. The Santa Fe office is in the Supreme Court Building and is the

main location of the clerk's office, the prehearing division, and the mediation office. The

Albuquerque office is located adjacent to the University Of New Mexico School Of Law.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Court of Appeals facilities would fall under jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, as head of the

Judicial Branch.

AHO/nt:yr