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

SPONSOR Lovejoy

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/28/08

HB

SHORT TITLE Navajo Nation Watershed Restoration Projects

SB 357

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$30.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

Energy Minerals and Natural Resources (EMNRD)

Office of the State Engineer (OSE)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 357 appropriates $30 thousand from the general fund to the Indian Affairs

Department to fund an agreement with a New Mexico not-for-profit corporation for a youth

conservation corps program to engage in watershed restoration projects in the Navajo Nation.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $30 thousand 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

Indian Affairs Department contributes.

The bill is intended to fund a youth corps program to conduct watershed restoration projects in

Senate Bill 357 – Page

2

the Navajo Nation. The program should be administered via a not-for-profit corporation. It is

likely that the same entity that did the work last year would continue its program. Last year’s

entity was the Rio Puerco Alliance (“the Alliance"). “The Alliance is an Internal Revenue

Service classified 501(c) (3) non-profit organization devoted to the restoration of the Rio Puerco

watershed via outreach, education, and collaborative action. The Alliance “was formed by

members of the Rio Puerco Management Committee, a coalition that undertakes restoration

projects within the Rio Puerco watershed. Its participants include 9 federal agencies, 5 tribes, 13

state agencies, 6 non-profit organizations and interest groups, and numerous residents,

landowners, and interested citizens.

Energy and Minerals adds that since its enactment in 1992, the Youth Conservation Corps

(YCC) program has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to New Mexico tribes and

pueblos. Hundreds of Native American youth have been employed through YCC, not only by

Native American project sponsors but also by state agencies, cities, counties, school districts,

colleges and non-profit organizations all across New Mexico. The YCC Commission funds

projects similar to what is outlined in the bill through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The

RFP is based on the YCC Act and Rules, outlines the types of projects that may be funded,

stresses the importance of including an educational component in the project and provides

direction in developing budgets.

MW/mt