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

SPONSOR Beffort

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1-17-2008

HB

SHORT TITLE Wireless Soil Sensing System Demonstration

SB 44

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$500.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Office of the State Engineer (OSE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill:

Senate Bill 44 seeks to appropriate $500,000 from the general fund to the Office of the State

engineer for expenditure in fiscal year 2009 to conduct the phase 2 demonstration of a wireless

soil sensing system on irrigated cropland. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining

at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

OSE indicates that this bill will fund a demonstration project for wireless soil moisture sensing

on irrigated cropland and is based on a Governor’s innovation Fund Project. The project will

provide an assessment of advances in irrigation scheduling via aforementioned wireless soil

sensors. There is a lack of technology that provides easily assessable soil moisture data that can

be readily incorporated into farmer’s irrigation scheduling. Improved irrigation scheduling has

the potential of increasing yields, while decreasing raw water diversions. The demonstration

project will study the practical use of the technology, assess the changes in on-farm water

consumption, and changes in on-farm diversions.

OSE adds that the project will also assess the water right implications from any documented

conserved water. The water allowance statue (NMSA 72-5-18) was amended in 2007 to allow

Senate Bill 44 – Page

2

for an application to the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) for a change in the point of diversion

or place and purpose of use of the quantity of conserved water. However, the OSE has not been

provided with any additional FTEs or other budget to establish application criteria. This project

will provide an opportunity for the agency to assess what information is necessary to administer

and approve applications submitted under 72-5-18.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

OSE advises that it has received at least one application filed under the recently modified 72-5-

18 water allowance statute, and that applications are anticipated to increase as more water users

become aware of this change to the statute. Further that the demonstration project will be scoped

to assess what information is necessary for applications, evaluation procedures and any approval

conditions necessary for these kinds of applications.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

This project will impact the OSE with approximately 0.25 FTE. It is anticipated that this will be

absorbed into existing FTEs.

BFW/mt