Bill > SM16

This Memorial requests the Natural Heritage New Mexico division of the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico to study the creation, operation, and upkeep of a website that would give the public access to environmental data collected by various New Mexico agencies, which is currently stored in separate, unconnected databases. The study will also involve the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and the New Mexico Resource Geographic Information System (GIS) Program at the University of New Mexico, and input will be sought from several state departments, including Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, Environment, Health, and others, to assess the feasibility of a unified statewide environmental database that would improve transparency, interagency cooperation, and access to scientific data for managing the state's natural resources. The findings and conclusions of this study are to be reported to the legislature by November 1, 2021.