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:	Gonzales		DATE TYPED:	1-29-00		HB	HJM 27
SHORT TITLE:		Early Childhood Education and Family Support				SB
					ANALYST:		Baca

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY00

FY01

FY00

FY01

See Narrative

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Joint Memorial 27 requests that the Legislative Education Study Committee study the issue of compensation for early education and family support professionals and recommend to the Legislature the means to increase compensation so that their salaries are commensurate with those of equivalent education in other fields.

Significant Issues

The recitals in the memorial suggest the intent applies to compensation for providers of day care or early childhood services and not necessarily public school personnel. If so, then those affected would fall under the purview of other state agencies, such as Children, Youth and Families, Department of Health and Department of Human Services. Revenues sources affected by any compensation increases would affect both the general fund and federal funds used to pay for these services. If the memorial also applies to school districts, their budgets could also be impacted.

The SDE analysis states that ambiguous language could create difficult situations which are reflected in the following questions:

•Will paying commensurate salaries for those with "equivalent education" lead to a two tier system with the differences relating to differences in "formal" education and licensure?

Should the study include only those professionals in New Mexico or should the study be regional in nature?

The role of licensure is not mentioned in the study as one of the determinants of "equivalent education. Should it be cited?

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

None to SDE as far as the conduct of the study is concerned. However, the SDE analysis cites the relationship between increasing teacher salaries and the potential need to increase compensation for the professionals cited in the study.

LB/gm