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

SPONSOR Griego

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/10/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Acequia Commission Staffing

SB 914

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$130.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates HB 228

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

Office of State Engineer (OSE)

SUMMARY

Senate Bill 914 would make an appropriation of $130.0 from the General Fund to the

Department of Finance and Administration for expenditure in FY08 to provide staff support for

the New Mexico Acequia Commission.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $130.0 from the General Fund is a recurring appropriation. Any

unexpended amounts at the end of FY08 shall revert to the General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

DFA reports that the Acequia Commission has expanded its mandated role of acting as

“facilitator for communication between local acequia organizations and the state and federal

governments" by engaging with agencies regarding their interactions with local acequia

organizations. In so doing, it serves a role in facilitating communication not only between local

acequia organizations and the agencies, but also between the agencies themselves. In most cases,

Senate Bill 914 – Page

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acequia matters are tangential to the agencies' primary missions and thus acequia concerns fall

between the cracks, particularly where a particular issue requires cross-agency cooperation. By

bringing focus to acequia needs and applying its leverage to bring together multiple agencies, the

Commission has shown that it can be a catalyst to resolve problems that have languished in the

past and promote new solutions that no single agency would have developed on their.

During the coming year, the Acequia Commission indicates it would like to continue and expand

the dialog it has initiated with multiple agencies on how services to acequias can be improved

through better coordination and cooperation between agencies. It also intends to give better

exposure to services available to acequia by holding meetings in different parts of the state and

inviting agencies to meet with the local acequia organizations in that region.

There is a growing interest in exploring options for “Alternative Dispute Resolution" (ADR) for

resolving disputes between local acequia organizations. This approach to resolving conflicts via

mediation by a neutral third-party actually is consistent with long-standing traditions of acequia

governance, going back to the historical roots of these institutions in Spain. Consequently, there

has been growing interesting in exploring the potential benefits of this methodology to:

•

Quickly arrive at practical solutions to problems that all parties can live with, without

involving overburdened state agencies or courts, at a relatively low cost to all parties

•

Keep the ideals of unity, peace, and harmony alive in rural New Mexico communities

•

Allow the implementation of a system that has been traditionally used in rural New Mexico

communities (alcade mayor)

•

Involve knowledgeable, neutral mediators, with no stake in outcomes to assist in developing

and implementing solutions to conflicts

The Acequia Commission intends to take the lead in developing a center for ADR that can assist

local acequia resolve conflicts between themselves and with local/state governments.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

OSE notes that if this appropriation were used to create a term staff position for the Commission,

the new position could provide staff expertise and continuity that could enable the Commission

to undertake projects for the benefit of the acequia community across the State that the

Commission, which is comprised of unpaid appointees and has no staff, currently cannot

undertake.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The State Engineer’s acequia liaison currently provides some staff support to the Acequia

Commission on an informal basis. The Office of the Attorney General provides legal counsel to

the Commission pursuant to NMSA 1978, section 73-2-67 (1993). If this appropriation were

used to create a term staff position for the Acequia Commission, the Commission would not need

to look to the State Engineer’s acequia liaison for administrative support during the term of the

new position

.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The New Mexico Acequia Commission will continue to operate under existing funding.

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