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

SPONSOR:	Rawson		DATE TYPED:	1/28/02		HB
SHORT TITLE:		NMSU Adjudicated Youth Facilities Evaluation				SB	202
					ANALYST:		Dunbar

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY02	FY03	FY02	FY03
	$250.0			Recurring	General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Responses Received From

Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD)

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 202 appropriates $250.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New Mexico State University for an independent, statewide evaluation of state-operated secure and reintegration facilities for adjudicated delinquent offenders.

Significant Issues

CYFD acknowledges that the bill creates a system of evaluation that could be used as a blue print for systemic reform litigation. CYFD also expresses concerns that the Board of Regents needs to posses a unique knowledge and/or skill base of state-operated secure reintegration facilities prior to conducting this type of evaluation.

A request was not included in NMSU’s budget request to the NMSU Board of Regents, and thus was not included in the list of priority projects submitted by NMSU to the Commission on Higher Education for review.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 03 shall revert to the general fund.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The CHE suggests adding the following language for all new recurring higher education programs and expansion of current programs (assuming that funding will continue beyond 2002-2003):

“A plan for a program evaluation, including specific program goals and criteria for assessing program effectiveness, shall be submitted to the Legislative Finance Committee and the Commission on Higher Education by October 1, 2003. An assessment of the program will be completed prior to June 30, 2004, and submitted to the Legislative Finance Committee and the Commission on Higher Education.”

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The NM Criminal and Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (CJJCC) was created in 1994 to "advise the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government of policy matters relating to criminal and juvenile justice …(and) make recommendations to the legislature concerning proposed changes to laws relating to the criminal and juvenile systems that the council determines would improve those systems".

CHE suggests that funds be appropriated to the Criminal & Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council to contract with an independent consultant to conduct the evaluation under the guidelines and oversight of the Council.

CHE reports that higher education institutions receive indirect cost revenues from federal contracts and grants. A portion of the indirect cost revenue, or earned overhead, is used to support items such as the salaries of the accountants responsible for monitoring the contracts and grants, or for paying utilities and other expenses required to maintain the space where the contract and grant activities are housed. However, 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 percent of this indirect cost revenue. One of the purposes of retaining these funds is to provide seed money and matching funds for projects such as the one proposed in this bill.

CYFD may have to provide the NMSU team assistance.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

What type of assistance can CYFD provide to the Board of Regents?

Will NMSU match these funds?

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

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Responses Received From

BD/njw