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

SPONSOR:	Carraro		DATE TYPED:	1/29/03		HB
SHORT TITLE:		UNM Human Genomics Research Program				SB	190
					ANALYST:		Weber

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04	FY03	FY04
$2,380.0 thru FY05				Recurring	Tobacco Settlement Program Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

REVENUE

Estimated Revenue		Subsequent Years Impact	Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04
		Substantial	Recurring	Federal/Other

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

Conflicts with HB 7 and SB 2

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Responses Received From

University of New Mexico-Health Sciences Center

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 190 appropriates $2,380,000 from the tobacco settlement program fund in fiscal years 2003 through 2005 to the board of regents of the University of New Mexico to support a multidisciplinary human genomics research program. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Significant Issues

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center supplied the following description of the program objective.

Research on tobacco-related diseases in the UNM Health Sciences Center is in an unprecedented phase of expansion and achievement. Allocations in the original State Tobacco Settlement budget for core facilities for cancer and other tobacco-related research were leveraged to secure equipment grants from the Keck Foundation ($1 million in 2000) and the National Institutes of Health ($500,000 total in 2001 and 2002). This joint funding allowed HSC scientists to create new genomics, biocomputing and confocal microscopy cores and to update the existing electron microscopy core. Continued Tobacco Settlement support for these cutting-edge cores make possible rates of discovery of the molecular basis of cancer and other tobacco-related diseases that were unimaginable even 10 years ago.

Allocations in the original State Tobacco Settlement budget for faculty and staff performing research on cancers and other tobacco-related diseases were leveraged even more dramatically into over $5 million in Developmental Center grants from the National Institutes of Health. Tobacco Settlement and NIH funds now jointly support the UNM Center for Environmental Health Sciences (1999), the UNM Cancer Research and Treatment Center (2000) and the UNM Center of Excellence in Complex Biomedical Systems Research (2002). These new research faculty, staff and facilities are already delivering health improvements for New Mexicans and economic benefits for the state. There has never been a time when so many resources have come together in New Mexico in the fight against cancer and other human diseases.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $2,380.0 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the Tobacco Settlement Program Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2005 shall revert to the Tobacco Settlement Program Fund. These same funds are appropriated in SB 2 and HB 7, the General Appropriation Act, making availability uncertain. This project received a non-recurring appropriation of $2,000.0 from the Tobacco Settlement Program Fund for fiscal year 2003.

MW/njw