Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Chatfield
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/14/2025
SHORT TITLE Rainfall Enhancement Pilot Project
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 362
ANALYST Jorgensen
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
FY25 FY26
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected $3,600.0 Nonrecurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
New Mexico State University (NMSU)
Office of the State Engineer (OSE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 362
House Bill 362 (HB362) establishes a 3-year rainfall enhancement pilot program between the
Roosevelt soil and water conservation district (SWCD) and New Mexico State University
(NMSU) to study the efficacy of rainfall enhancement programs in the state. The results of the
pilot project would be reported annually by the state climatologist housed at NMSU.
HB362 appropriates $3.6 million from the general fund to NMSU to develop and administer the
pilot program from FY26 to FY28. Any unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY28
will revert to the general fund.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $3.6 million contained in this bill is a nonrecurring expense to the general
fund. Although this bill does not specify future appropriations, multiyear appropriations,
particularly if used to fund services and those services perform well, create an expectation the House Bill 362– Page 2
program will continue in future fiscal years; therefore, this cost could become recurring after the
funding period.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
NMSU reports:
In the 2024 Regular Legislative Session, House Bill 2 appropriated $1 million (1,000.00)
to NMSU, “for cloud seeding programs.” NMSU and Roosevelt SWCD have coordinated
the funding and implementation of the program in FY25. From reports shared with
NMDA, work conducted from July-September 2024 saw the completion of 62 flights
across 44 days of cloud seeding operations. Prior to the initiation of the FY25 cloud
seeding pilot program, Roosevelt SWCD estimated that previous cloud seeding initiatives
had achieved region-wide 5-15% increases in measurable rainfall over the growing
season, at an estimated cost of less than $10 per acre-foot of water. Data and analysis
from the FY25 pilot program, and HB362’s proposed rainfall enhancement pilot project,
intend to test and verify such claims.
Per the Weather Control Act (75-3-1 to 75-3-15 NMSA 1978), the state of New Mexico
“claims the right to all moisture in the atmosphere which would fall so as to become a
part of the natural streams or percolated water of New Mexico, for use in accordance with
its laws.” Section 1 D. of HB 362 establishes that the cloud seed pilot program would not
impact normal water rights administration: “all water derived as a result of rainfall
enhancement shall be considered a part of the natural water supply in the same sense as if
no rainfall enhancement project had been conducted, and any water so derived shall not
be subject to new appropriations but shall be administered and distributed to users in
accordance with existing water rights.”
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The Office of the State Engineer notes that current statute and rule would require rainfall
enhancement projects to file an application with the Interstate Stream Commission. The increase
in applications will require additional staff time.
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