Gov. Bill Richardson has signed legislation that will require competitive bidding on all State Land Office development leases.
Senate Bill 540, sponsored by Steve Fischmann, D-Las Cruces, came in response to a development controversy in Las Cruces, and was the only bill in a package proposed by three Las Cruces lawmakers that was endorsed by Land Commissioner Pat Lyons — and the only one that passed the Legislature this year.
The proposals followed Attorney General Gary King’s finding fault last year with Lyons’ leasing of land on Las Cruces’ East Mesa to Philip Philippou so it could be developed. The AG’s formal opinion on The Vistas at Presidio land deal states that the lease agreement’s method of compensating Philippou’s company for developing the land is “not comprehended by and in conflict with” a statute that allows developers who improve land for the state to be compensated only for the appraised value of the improvements.
In the lease, the land office also agreed to compensate Philippou for other project costs and 40 percent of the change in value of the land as a result of the improvements.
The competitive bidding bill was also significant because, in the Las Cruces situation, Lyons bypassed his own bidding process — which he’s not currently required by law to use — and leased the thousands of acres of land in question to Philippou in December 2006. Months earlier, while the Republican Lyons was running for re-election, Philippou gave $20,500 to a political action committee run by lobbyists he employs. The PAC gave most of it to Lyons’ campaign, and the lobbyists gave another $3,600. After Lyons leased the land to Philippou, the developer gave another $6,000 to Lyons.