A. Ninety-nine percent of the income derived from any state lands granted or confirmed by the Enabling Act or otherwise under the management, care, custody and control of the commissioner of public lands shall constitute a fund to be known as the "state lands maintenance fund"; provided that the state lands maintenance fund shall not include any money required to be transferred to any permanent fund created in Chapter 19 NMSA 1978.

B. The "state trust lands restoration and remediation fund" is created in the state treasury. One percent of the income derived from any state trust lands granted or confirmed by the Enabling Act or otherwise under the management, care, custody and control of the commissioner of public lands shall be deposited in the state trust lands restoration and remediation fund; provided that the state trust lands restoration and remediation fund shall not include any money required to be transferred to any permanent fund created in Chapter 19 NMSA 1978. The state trust lands restoration and remediation fund also consists of income from investment of the fund and money otherwise accruing to the fund. Money in the state trust lands restoration and remediation fund that exceeds five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall be distributed to the trust beneficiaries in the same manner that surpluses in the state lands maintenance fund are distributed. Money in the fund shall not revert to any other fund at the end of a fiscal year. The state land office shall administer the fund. Subject to legislative appropriation, expenditures may be made from the state trust lands restoration and remediation fund upon vouchers signed by the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative and issued by the secretary of finance and administration to administer contractual surface damage and watershed restoration and remediation projects on state trust lands.

C. For any expenditure made from the state trust lands restoration and remediation fund, the commissioner shall attempt to recover the costs of remediation projects from any person who may otherwise bear liability for that remediation project under the Voluntary Remediation Act [Chapter 74, Article 4G NMSA 1978], the New Mexico Mining Act [Chapter 69, Article 36 NMSA 1978], the Surface Mining Act [Chapter 69, Article 25A NMSA 1978], the Oil and Gas Act [Chapter 70, Article 2 NMSA 1978], the Water Quality Act [Chapter 74, Article 6 NMSA 1978], the Solid Waste Act [74-9-1 NMSA 1978] or the Hazardous Waste Act [Chapter 74, Article 4 NMSA 1978].

History: Laws 1912, ch. 82, § 6; Code 1915, § 5183; C.S. 1929, § 132-106; 1941 Comp., § 8-109; 1953 Comp., § 7-1-10; Laws 1989, ch. 15, § 1; 2017, ch. 24, § 1.

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, created the state trust lands restoration and remediation fund, and directed that one percent of the income derived from any state trust lands granted or confirmed by the Enabling Act or under the management of the commissioner of public land be deposited in the state trust lands restoration and remediation fund; in the catchline, added "state trust lands restoration and remediation fund created"; added the subsection designation "A"; in Subsection A, deleted "The" and added "Ninety-nine percent of the"; and added Subsections B and C.

The 1989 amendment, effective March 9, 1989, rewrote this section to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.

Enabling Act not violated. — In state statute creating state land office, provisions constituting 20 percent of income from state lands as a trust fund, known as the state lands maintenance fund, and authorizing payment of salaries and expenses of state land office from such fund, was not violative of trust created by Enabling Act. United States v. Swope, 16 F.2d 215 (8th Cir. 1926) (decided prior to 1989 amendment).

Law reviews. — For article, "Sustainable Resources Management and State School Lands: The Quest For Guiding Principles," see 34 Nat. Resources J. 271 (1994).