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

SPONSOR Madalena

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/27/07

HB HJM 27

SHORT TITLE Protection of Native American Waters

SB

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Joint Memorial 27 (“HJM 27") resolves that the senior water rights of the New Mexico

Native American Nations, Pueblos and Tribes be acknowledged and protected during efforts to

reach a comprehensive water use plan for the entire state of New Mexico, and that copies of

HJM 27 be transmitted to the Governor of New Mexico and the State Engineer.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

No fiscal impacts identified.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The State Engineer provides the following background on water rights.

The joint memorial is inaccurate when it declares that the water rights of New Mexico’s Native

American nations, tribes, and pueblos have water rights that are senior to all other water rights in

the state. While it is true that Native American pueblos in New Mexico claim surface water

rights with the senior priorities in the stream systems where they are located, Native American

nations and tribes within the state either claim or have had adjudicated surface water rights under

the Winters doctrine that are among the most senior but are not always the

most senior water

rights in the stream systems where they are located. For example, because the priority for

House Joint Memorial 27 – Page

2

Winters rights is based upon the date of the reservation of land by the federal government for the

nation or tribe, in some cases the priorities claimed or adjudicated for tribal Winters rights are

junior to the priorities established by water right owners before the date the United States

established the reservation.

For this reason, as well as the fact that some tribes and pueblos have established water rights

under state law, the joint memorial also is potentially misleading when it sweepingly

characterizes all of the water rights of the nations, tribes, and pueblos as “superior rights"

without defining the term.

One of the initiatives of the State Engineer for the implementation of the state water plan is the

Active Water Resource Management (AWRM) plan. The primary focus of this initiative is to

protect senior water rights – including those owned or held by the state’s Native American

nations, tribes, and pueblos.

MW/mt