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

SPONSOR Komadina

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1-22-08

HB

SHORT TITLE Study Land Acquisition for Wild Horse Park

SJM 16

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

NFI

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY08

FY09

FY10 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$25.0

1

NA

NA

$25.0

Non-Rec General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill:

Senate Joint Memorial 16 resolves that the State Parks Division of the Energy, Minerals and

Natural Resources Department be requested to conduct a study of the feasibility of establishing a

wild horse state park located on five thousand acres of land to be acquired from the federal

Bureau of Land Management that will be accessible through the village of Placitas in Sandoval

County.

There is no appropriation attached to this legislation.

1

Cost projections are included in the agency response. See Fiscal Implications section for methodology.

Senate Joint Memorial 16 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

EMNRD indicates that a typical state park feasibility study costs the State Parks Division (SPD)

around $25,000 in personnel and other costs (salary, travel, per diem, printing, etc.). This

particular requested study would require at least this amount, if not more, since the management

of a wild horse park would be a new concept with which SPD does not have familiarity or direct

experience. SPD would likely have to engage a consultant to collect data regarding potential

visitation, research existing literature regarding wild horse preserves in New Mexico and in other

locations, and determine management approaches and resource needs for such a park.

EMNRD adds that SPD does not have available budget in FY08 to begin the study, SPD has not

requested any funding in the FY09 budget to perform the requested study, and SJM 16 does not

include any appropriations to SPD in order to conduct the study. If no funds are appropriated for

either fiscal year, study costs would have to come out of the FY08 and FY09 operating budgets

for SPD.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

EMNRD notes that SPD has no prior experience or expertise in the management of wild horses,

which can be a resource-intensive and highly complex responsibility for a land management

agency. Developing the new management capacity within SPD to handle this project would be a

challenge and likely involve significant cost. Further, the time frame for completion of the study

only allows for two months from the beginning of FY09 until the report is due to the Legislature.

This does not allow adequate time to prepare a thorough feasibility study so that the Legislature

can have solid information from which to make decisions regarding this proposed new state park.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

EMNRD indicates that, currently, the agency does not have available resources to complete this

study in the timeframe allowed. In order to complete the study, SPD would have to divert

resources from other high priority projects already underway.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

No state park feasibility study will be completed.

AMENDMENTS

EMNRD suggests: Page 3, line 16: Delete “September 1, 2008" and replaced with “January 1,

2009."

BFW/mt