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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

02/15/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Sheep Springs Chapter Welcome Center

SB 1085

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$200.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 712

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

SUMMARY

Senate Bill 1085 appropriates $200 thousand from the general fund to the Indian Affairs

Department for the purpose operating the welcome center located at the Sheep Springs Chapter

of the Navajo Nation.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $200 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2008 shall

revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Indian Affairs Department reports that Native American tourism generates millions of

dollars for New Mexico. According to the New Mexico Indian Reservation Economic Study

Group, total visitor spending in New Mexico averages $2.14 billion per year; of that amount

roughly 13.4% or $286.2 million of that spending is attributable to visitors motivated by New

Mexico’s “Indian Culture." This amount reveals the importance of Indian attributable tourism as

Senate Bill 1085 – Page

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a positive economic factor to New Mexico’s economy and employment.

Indian Affairs Department reports that the Sheep Springs tourism center currently is under

construction. An appropriation to “operate and maintain" needs to be coordinated with

completion of the capital portion of the project.

IAD continues that the center is currently under construction and slated open as soon as April

2007.

1

Sheep Springs is located primarily in the San Juan Basin between Gallup and Shiprock.

It is crossed by United States Highway 491 (formerly 666.)

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Since the Department of Tourism currently operates and maintains tourism centers should the

appropriation be made to that department. The infrastructure to manage this type of facility

presumably already exists in the Tourism Department with a resultant more efficient use of the

funds.

MW/csd

1

Information provided by the Sheep Springs Chapter, ph. 505-732-5408