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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Trujillo
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/26/08
HB 441
SHORT TITLE Santa Fe Airport Firefighting
SB
ANALYST Propst
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
$1,050.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 441, Making an Appropriation for Personnel, Firefighting and Technological
Expenses at the Santa Fe Airport, appropriates $1,050.0 million from the general fund to DFA
for the purpose of personnel, firefighting and technological expenses at Santa Fe Airport.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $1050.0 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert to the
general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
DFA notes that HB 441 funds personnel and equipment to meet standards required for
commercial airlines of over 9 seats, such as American and Delta, to provide interstate air service
to the Santa Fe airport. Radar is a critical safety enhancement that affects new commercial
service as well as exiting traffic at the airport.
pg_0002
House Bill 441 – Page
2
The total appropriation of $1,050.0 is split between:
- $250.0 thousand for personnel salaries, heat resistant suites, and "jaws of life", which are
required by the Federal Aviation Administration to allow commercial air traffic to continue
service to Santa Fe. Future service by American and Delta are dependent on these items being
funded.
- $800.0 thousand for radar equipment considered essential to a commercial airport.
These funds will serve as seed money for federal matching funds of $2,000.0 million and NM
Department of Transportation Aviation Division state grant funds of $1,200.0 million. This bill
will enhance the economic development of not only the Santa Fe area, but all of northern New
Mexico. Air travelers will no longer have to travel to Albuquerque for departing flights. This
will save travelers a minimum of 2 hours driving time added to each flight.
WEP/mt