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| SPONSOR: | Tripp | DATE TYPED: | 02/22/99 | HB | 669 | ||
| SHORT TITLE: | Old 2D Seismic Information Research | SB | |||||
| ANALYST: | Pickering | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY99 | FY2000 | FY99 | FY2000 | ||
| NFI | $ 250.0 | NFI | Unknown | Recurring | State Lands Maintenance Fund |
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (NMCHE)
State Land Office (SLO)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
HB 669 appropriates $250.0 from the State Land Maintenance Fund to the Commissioner of Public Lands ("Commissioner") for expenditure in FY 2000 to contract with the Petroleum Recovery Research Center (PRRC) at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT) to conduct a seismic information research project. Any unexpended/unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2000 shall revert to the State Land Maintenance Fund.
Significant Issues
According to the NMCHE, HB 669 is consistent with NMIMT/PRRC's collaborative mission of working with state and federal agencies to conduct research relating to the development of improved recovery methods for crude oil and natural gas.
The SLO believes the bill would reduce funding which flows to various educational beneficiaries from the State Land Maintenance Fund, and would result in an increased need for general fund money to replace that reduced funding flow.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
HB 669 appropriates $250.0 from the State Land Maintenance Fund in FY 2000 for the PRRC at NMIMT to conduct research. Funds are recurring and the bill contains a reversion clause.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The bill would impose some impact on the SLO in developing the legal agreement ('contract") with the PRRC to carry out the research project.
SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
According to the SLO, the research project could prove beneficial to future oil and gas production in New Mexico. The potential benefit from the research could cover all types of land: private, federal, Indian, and state land. However, the relative share of potential benefits between land types is unknown at present. In regard to state land, it is unknown if the future bonus or lease rental value, which might be generated from this research project, would match the various beneficiaries' loss of maintenance fund income due to this bill's appropriation. To this extent, the agency believes HB 669 should be funded from the general fund.
RP/prr