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

SPONSOR Pinto

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/7/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE Native American Cultural Performances

SB 691

ANALYST Dearing

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Cultural Affairs Department (CAD)

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 691 appropriates $100 thousand from the general fund to department of Cultural Af-

fairs to support performances of traditional and contemporary Native American performing Arts

in Santa Fe.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General

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

the General Fund.

Senate Bill 691 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Senate Bill 691 would provide funding for traditional and contemporary Native American per-

formances in Santa Fe and provide opportunities for statewide participation to educate school-

children and the general public. Senate Bill 691 would provide support for arts and cultural dis-

ciplines such as art, dance, drama and music and literacy. Students, teachers, parents and com-

munity members could benefit from a Native American arts, culture and education program.

The following excerpt from the Indian Affairs department’s bill analysis is included in order to

present the intended purpose of the proposed program.

“Presentations of Native American performing arts are helpful only if an accurate image of

Native culture is conveyed. In University of New Mexico Professor Chris Wilson’s The

Myth of Santa Fe, he argues that representations of New Mexico’s cultural richness in Santa

Fe have been reduced to a carefully packaged portrayal intended to attract tourism.

1

As a re-

sult, many visitors and locals alike may develop inaccurate conceptions of Native culture in

the State. Presenting authentic Native artistic performances may aid in contradicting phony

imagery and representations of Native traditions in Santa Fe. The intent of this legislation is

to educate “schoolchildren and the general public regarding Native American culture and tra-

ditions and encourage new performing arts talent."

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Attendance at a performing arts program would assist the Cultural Affairs department and the

Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in fulfilling could increase the department’s performance

measure tracking outreach.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The Native American performing arts program would not receive funding through the State gen-

eral fund.

PD/sb

1

Wilson, Chris. The Myth of Santa Fe: Creating a Modern Regional Tradition. Albuquerque : University of New

Mexico Press, 1997.