State Lands Contracts Details
State Lands Contracts Introduction
The State Land Office, headed by an elected Commissioner of Public Lands, was created in response to the Ferguson Act of 1889 of the Territorial Laws and Treaties of New Mexico. The Enabling Act of 1910 and the Ferguson Act granted certain lands held by the federal government to the territory of New Mexico. Under the terms of these land grants, it was stipulated that such lands, totaling 13.4 million acres, were to be held in trust for the benefit of the public schools and other specific beneficiary institutions. The Land Commissioner is charged with generating and maximizing revenue from state trust lands in order to support public education and other beneficiary institutions, while simultaneously striving to protect, conserve, and maintain the lands so they may be used by future generations. To maximize revenues, the Land Commissioner generates revenues by leasing lands for grazing, agriculture, commercial use, oil and gas drilling, mining, and other surface and subsurface activities. It is these lease contracts that are being provided on the State Land Contracts Details page.
Revenue earned on state trust lands flows to two funds: the Land Maintenance Fund (LMF – Renewable) and the Land Grant Permanent Fund (LGPF – Non-Renewable). Each source is broken down by lease type, lessee, beneficiary, and monthly distribution amounts by State fiscal year.
Renewable resources consist of rental payments from sources such as oil, gas and mineral leases, renewable energy rentals, agricultural leases, business leases, rights-of-way. Fees are deposited into the LMF. Three cents of every dollar earned is appropriated to the State Land Office for operating expenses and the balance is distributed to the beneficiaries.
Non-renewable resources consist of royalty payments from sources such as oil, gas, mineral and land sales; monies are deposited into the LGPF. The LGPF is almost entirely the product of revenues generated by the State Land Office. The State Investment Council manages the LGPF. The State Investment Council, of which the Commissioner of Public Lands is a member, invests the corpus of the fund in equity and bond markets. The beneficiaries are paid 5.8 percent of the five year average market value of the fund. Go to the Investments Accounts Details page for more information on the State Investment Council and the investment policies for the LGPF.
New Mexico State Trust Land beneficiaries include: Public Schools, Eastern New Mexico University; New Mexico Highlands University; New Mexico State University; New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; Northern New Mexico College, the University of New Mexico; Western New Mexico University; the New Mexico Military Institute; the New Mexico School for the Deaf; the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired; Carrie Tingley Children’s Hospital; Las Vegas Medical Center; Miners’ Colfax Medical Center; the Penitentiary of New Mexico; New Mexico Boys School; Charitable, Penal and Reform; Rio Grande Improvements , UNM Saline Lands; Public building repair and construction; water projects managed by the State Engineer’s Office; and the State Parks Division.
As you browse the State Land Contracts Details page, you will be able to view all contracts or just those that are renewable or non-renewable by using the drill-down capability of this site. In addition, you can see the contracts based on the source of leases the State Commissioner enters into for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Glossary
Fiscal Year – An accounting period of 12 months. The State of New Mexico operates on a fiscal year basis running from July 1 to June 30 each year.
State Trust Land – Lands held in trust for New Mexico’s public schools and other beneficiaries.
Non-renewable – When an asset is removed or depleted, such as removing minerals or extracting oil and gas from Trust Lands.
Renewable – Activities which do not deplete the assets on trust lands; such as agriculture leasing, rights of ways, renewable energy, oil and gas leases.
Contract – A legal and binding agreement, established in accordance with applicable state procurement laws, between two or more competent parties, for a consideration to procure the natural resources of the State of New Mexico.
Disclaimer
The State Land Contract information has been updated as of July 11, 2016 and reflects renewable or non-renewable contracts as of July 11, 2016.
Please note that the data contained on this website is raw, unaudited, and unconsolidated data and therefore will not agree to any audited or printed financial statements. The State Land Contracts Details page displays data that is routinely updated, at a minimum on a monthly basis, and represents the most-recent update.
By law, under the Inspection of Public Records Act, every person has the right to inspect public records of the State of New Mexico. The act also makes compliance with requests to inspect public records an integral part of the routine duties of the officers and employees of the State of New Mexico. This website does not contain information that is considered private or protected by state or federal law. While all of the information contained on this site is an open record, there may be additional public records available regarding this data. Additional records can be obtained by making a public records request to the appropriate records custodian(s) in the agency that possesses the documents in accordance with the law.
Contact Info
Assistant Commissioner of Administrative Services
310 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: 505-827-5760
Email: Slo-info@slo.state.nm.us