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





SPONSOR: Varela DATE TYPED: 02/15/01 HB 719
SHORT TITLE: SFCC Allied Health Research & Public Service SB
ANALYST: Gilbert


APPROPRIATION



Appropriation Contained
Estimated Additional Impact
Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY01 FY02 FY01 FY02
$ 170.0 Recurring General Fund



(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)



Duplicates House Bill 392 and Senate Bill 291



SOURCES OF INFORMATION



LFC Files

State Department of Education (SDE)

New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE)



SUMMARY



Synopsis of Bill



House Bill 719 appropriates $170.0 to the community college board of Santa Fe Community College to fund an allied health research and public service project.



Significant Issues



This bill requires Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) to partner with St. Vincent Hospital, the public schools, and the University of New Mexico to develop an allied health research and public service project to provide quality certification and associate degree programs for hospital health care workers.



FISCAL IMPLICATIONS



The appropriation of $170.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY02 shall revert to the general fund. SFCC development of a certificate and associate degree program for hospital health care workers would have a future fiscal impact on the general fund.





OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES



The following is provided for information only. It is not intended as a commentary on the merits of the program/project:



This special project was not included in SFCC's budget request and was not submitted to the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) for funding consideration. The CHE did not recommend funding this program expansion.



According to the State Department of Education (SDE), there are currently numerous concurrent enrollment programs in the state that provide opportunities for students to receive college credit while in high school. This legislation could lead to development of a certificate and associate degree program for hospital health care workers.



LG/prr:ar