Master FIR (1988)

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

SPONSOR:	Maes		DATE TYPED:	02/22/99		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Retain Economic Development Specialists				SB	625
					ANALYST:		Hadwiger

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY99

FY2000

FY99

FY2000

$ 2,650.0

Rec.

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Economic Development Department (EDD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

The bill would appropriate $2.65 million general fund in FY2000 to the Economic Development Department (EDD) for the following purposes:

$500.0 to advertise economic development opportunities in New Mexico,

$500.0 for co-op advertising to promote economic development in cooperation with local governments or other state agencies,

$150.0 to conduct a county site inventory of the resources important to economic development in each New Mexico county, including utility and telecommunications facilities and options, transportation access points, office or industrial space availability and family, educational and cultural opportunities in the county,

$100.0 to attend trade shows to promote New Mexico economic development,

$1,250.0 to contract for ten economic development specialists (term employees), seven of whom would be assigned to individual economic development districts. The ten specialists would be chosen by a six-person panel including two appointees by each the governor, Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and

$150.0 to reimburse the economic development specialists for travel expenses.

Unexpended balances would revert to the general fund at the end of FY2000.

Significant Issues

This bill addresses three general priorities of economic developers in New Mexico: increasing funds for economic development advertising, promoting rural economic development and providing research funds to help counties identify strengths and weaknesses in the economic development packages that they offer to companies considering relocating to New Mexico.

According to EDD, the funds proposed for advertising, cooperative advertising, county inventory development, and trade shows would be useful in accomplishing the goals of that agency.

The proposed funds for economic development specialists were not supported by EDD, because the selection process would be cumbersome and not performance based. The EDD has implemented a results based program through its participation in Quality New Mexico. This would be a duplication of efforts. EDD has already assembled teams to provide the services of the proposed ten economic development specialists.

DH/gm