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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Harden
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/10/07
HB
SHORT TITLE Conservancy District Electors & Voting
SB 488
ANALYST Ortiz
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to SB 354
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Attorney General’s Office (AGO)
No Responses Received From
Secretary of State (SOS)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 488 would amend NMSA Section 73-14-57 of the Conservancy Act of New Mexico
to allow business entities which have owned property situated within a conservancy district for at
least six months prior to an election to vote for members of the board of directors. It would also
allow business entities via “a person authorized to represent a business entity" to become
candidates for, and presumably serve on the board of directors of the district. The bill would also
establish procedures for voting for directors by mail.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the bill does not define “business entity", which
could include Limited Liability Companies, corporations, partnerships, etc. It is not
unprecedented for businesses to vote in special district elections (i.e. Cotton Boll Weevil
elections include “cotton producers’)