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

SPONSOR Trujillo

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/18/2007

HB 1236

SHORT TITLE

RIO GRANDE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA

MANAGEMENT

SB

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$150.0

Non-Recurring

General fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

NM Department of Higher Education (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill1236 appropriates $150,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of

Northern New Mexico State College (NNMC) for expenditure in FY08 to contract with a

nonprofit organization for the development and implementation of a management plan for the

Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $150,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the

general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

This request was not submitted by NNMC to the New Mexico Higher Education Department

(NMHED) for review and is not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for

FY08.

House Bill 1236 – Page

2

In 1991, the National Park Service study entitled `Alternative Concepts for Commemorating

Spanish Colonization' identified several alternatives consistent with the establishment of a

National Heritage Area. These included conducting a comprehensive archeological and historical

research program, coordinating a comprehensive interpretation program, and interpreting a

cultural heritage scene. The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area Act established the

Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, to include the counties of Santa Fe, Rio Arriba,

and Taos, in New Mexico. The heritage area encompasses a rich mosaic of natural and cultural

history which predates Spanish settlement of the region in 1598. The region reflects the

continuing home of people of Hispanic, Native American and Anglo American descent. Northern

New Mexico is home to eight Pueblo communities. The Taos Pueblo represents a community

that has been inhabited for over a thousand years--the longest period of time in the United States.

The nation's oldest church and first Spanish Mission can be found in Santa Fe and the San Juan

Pueblo, respectively. The combination of cultures, languages, folk arts, customs, architecture and

spectacular natural resources make northern New Mexico unique within our nation's culture and

history.

The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Inc. was established as the area's management

entity to: (1) develop, submit, and implement a management plan that includes recommendations

for conservation, funding, management, development, and interpretation of the area; and (2) to

provide assistance to tribal and local governments and other entities to carry out the plan. The

Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation responsible for

developing and implementing a management plan for the protection, development, and

management of cultural and other area resources, designated as the Northern Rio Grande

National Heritage Area. The board of the Northern Rio Grande Heritage Area, Inc. includes 15 to

25 trustees selected from the three counties within the area (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Taos

Counties), including representatives from local communities and Pueblos.

In 2005, federal legislation established the appropriation of $10 million, not to exceed $1 million

annually, for technical and financial assistance to the corporation over the next 15 years.

The management plan to be developed and submitted by the Northern Rio Grande National

Heritage Area, Inc., must include the following components:

(A) provide recommendations for the conservation, funding, management, and development of

the resources of the heritage area;

(B) identify sources of funding;

(C) include an inventory of the cultural, historical, archaeological, natural, and recreational

resources of the heritage area;

(D) provide recommendations for educational and interpretive programs to inform the public

about the resources of the heritage area; and

(E) include an analysis of ways in which local, state, federal, and tribal programs may best be

coordinated to promote the purposes of this Act.

GM/nt