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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Tsosie		DATE TYPED:	2/16/03		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Census Dissemination and Demographic Analysis				SB	432
					ANALYST:		Padilla

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04	FY03	FY04
	$165.0			Recurring	General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates HB 511

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Economic Development Department

Department of Health

Commission on Higher Education

State Department of Public Education

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 432 appropriates $150.0 from the general fund to the University of New Mexico to fund a program at UNM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) that will do the following: 1) implement an annual population estimates program; 2) increase data dissemination and expand educational outreach on census data; and 3) improve processing of Census 2000 data.

Significant Issues

The physical size of New Mexico and its rural nature has presented challenges for U.S. Census population counts. New Mexico was the most undercounted state in the 1990 census. Recent annual estimates of New Mexico’s population provided by the U.S. Census Bureau are believed to be too low. The U.S. Government Accounting Office reported that New Mexico lost roughly $85 million in federal funding over the 1990s because of the undercount. This bill would fund an expansion of a program initiated in 1991 to accurately estimate the state’s population.

In FY03, the program was funded at $55.2. For FY04, UNM/BBER requested a total of $220.3 for the program, including the base request of $55.2 and an expansion of $165.1. CHE recommended only the base request of $55.2, but noted that, should adequate funding be available, it would recommend an additional $100.0.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $165.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund since this is an ongoing project of UNM/BBER. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 04 shall revert to the general fund.

The expansion request submitted to the CHE included the following expenditures:

Salaries (3.3 FTE)	$123,800
Fringe Benefits	27,100
Supplies	500
Travel	7,900
Equipment	5,800
Other: (specify)
TOTAL	$165,100

DOH notes that population figures are routinely reported to federal agencies for grants and other funding. An accurate count could result in increased federal funding for certain programs.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

CHE notes that the program funded by this bill was rated a Tier 1 program (exceeding expectations) by CHE’s evaluation process in 2001.

EDD, DOH and the State Department of Education all state that this bill will allow BBER to provide valuable information that will be useful to their agencies. DOH, for example, explains that it relies on population numbers to calculate health-related rates of many population-based events, such as mortality and fertility statistics, rates of disease and injury and other items.

BBER also notes that other public programs, including the NM Department of Labor, the Health Policy Commission and Albuquerque TVI, rely on accurate population estimates.

LP/prr