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

SPONSOR:	Nava		DATE TYPED:	3/06/03		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Youth Council Act				SB	425/aSFl#1
					ANALYST:		Chabot

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04	FY03	FY04
			$150.0 (see narrative)	Recurring	General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 199

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)

No Responses Received From

Governor’s Office

Lieutenant Governor’s Office

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SFl#1 Amendment

The Senate Floor Amendment Number 1 raises the minimum age of youth participants from 12 to 14 years of age, changes entities assisting in the selection of council representatives from “school guidance counselors” to “educational youth advisors, faith-based organizations and community-based youth-serving organizations”, and requires that there is adequate adult supervision for youths participating in council activities.

No appropriation is made to fund Youth Council activities.

Synopsis of Original Bill

Senate Bill 425 creates a Youth Council to advise the Governor and Lieutenant Governor on problems affecting youth and offering possible solutions. Representation on the council is to be one youth, age 12 to 19, from each county. The council is to meet at least four times a year; the Lieutenant Governor will attend all meetings and the Governor will attend at least two of the meetings. The council will issue an annual report by December 15 of each year. A youth council coordinator position is created in the CYFD, Office of the Secretary, to administer and coordinate youth council activities; however, no appropriation to fund position is provided.

Significant Issues

Using one representative for each county would not provide equal representation by youth population throughout the state. It is important for both rural and urban youth to be represented.

CYFD is concerned about whether the Youth Council will be permanent and if the coordinator position will be permanent FTE assigned to oversee council activities. It appears the intent is to create a permanent Youth Council and expenses, including personal services and employee benefits, would be funded by the appropriation.

CYFD also states that federal regulations require consumer, client and public input to programs in the Child and Adult Protective Services Program (CAPSD). As a result, a foster youth council, Youth Advocates for New Mexico was created. A youth council at the Secretary level would enhance CAPSD youth programs statewide.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

This bill essentially is a duplicate of House Bill 199 except that it does not provide an appropriation for expenses relating to the Youth Council. House Bill 199 appropriates $150.0 for this purpose.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

CYFD recommends striking “nineteen” on page 1, line 25 and replace it with “twenty-one” to comply with federal definitions of a youth.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1. If the purpose of the council is to advise the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, should the council coordinator position to be located in the Lieutenant Governor’s office rather than in CYFD ?

GAC/yr:sb:yr