NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature.  The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.

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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

CHE Files - Special Funding Requests Submitted by NMIMT

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 782 appropriates $350.0 to the Board of Regents of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT) for management and operation of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $350.0 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.

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 program was not included in NMIMT's budget request to the NMIMT Board of Regents, and thus was not submitted by NMIMT to the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) for review. The CHE did not recommend funding this program expansion.

According to the CHE, higher education institutions receive indirect cost revenues from federal contracts and grants. A great deal of this money is used as seed money to develop new research and public service projects at institutions. This money is unrestricted in the sense that the governing board of the institution has the flexibility to choose which projects are supported with these funds. The state higher education funding formula allows institutions to retain 100% of this indirect cost revenue.

LG/ar