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

SPONSOR Wallace

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/07

HB 408

SHORT TITLE Scenic Byways Program

SB

ANALYST Earnest

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$300.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

NM Tourism Department (NMTD)

State Parks Division, Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

NM Department of Transportation (NMDOT)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 408 appropriates $300 thousand from the general fund to the Tourism Department for

the Scenic Byways Program. The appropriation is for two purposes:

1.

$30 thousand to produce a brochure and map for the statewide network of scenic byways;

and

2.

$270 thousand to award grants for scenic byway projects.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $300 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall

revert to the general fund.

House Bill 408 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

There are 26 federal or state designated scenic byways in the state. The Scenic Byways Program

is federally funded through the Federal Highway Administration using federal transportation

(SAFETEA-LU) funds. NMTD promotes and administers the program. NMDOT is the fiscal

agent for the federal transportation funds, which are designated solely for project grants. Grants

are awarded to eligible applicants on an annual basis through a competitive process administered

by NMTD in cooperation with NMDOT’s regional and metropolitan planning process. The

program received $374,503 in FY04; $507,637 in FY05; and $478,028 in FY06.

Annual funding requests are generally much higher than the funding awards. Over the past five

years the program has received an average of 26 applications per year and funded an average of

8 projects per year. In FY05, NMTD received $80,000 in federal Scenic Byway funds for a

drive-market penetration campaign. A $20,000 match was required.

NMTD notes that this bill provides, for the first time, a budget to create a marketing tool for the

statewide system of Scenic Byways. It will have a positive impact on tourism in New Mexico by

providing funds for marketing, interpretation, and capital projects around the state. The Scenic

Byways program is governed by New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) and administered

through NMTD. The additional funds would be managed in the same manner.

The State Parks Division (SPD) indicates that numerous New Mexico State Parks are located on

or near designated scenic byways. SPD, local park support groups and organizations, and park

“gateway communities" may seek to apply for the grant funding made available by HB 408.

Projects along the byways near state parks could help to advertise and beautify these routes,

increase educational information along the byways, and benefit state parks in other ways.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

NMTD indicates that additional funds will enable the program to award more projects and

significantly impact New Mexico’s 26 Scenic Byways. HB 408 also supports the NMTD

performance measure for the Scenic Byways Program to increase the number of active New

Mexico community Scenic Byway organizations.

According to SPD, HB 408 would have positive impacts on two of the performance measures for

the division: visitation and revenue. Additional publicity and exposure for the scenic byways in

New Mexico could help increase visitation at the parks located along or near those scenic

byways, which would also help SPD generate revenue and meet the statutory requirement for

SPD to be as financially self-sufficient as possible.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

There is no significant administrative impact. The additional grants could be awarded and

administered with existing resources.

BE/mt