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

SPONSOR:	Begaye		DATE TYPED:	3/6/03		HB	678/aHGUAC
SHORT TITLE:		Tribal Representation on CHE				SB
					ANALYST:		L. Baca

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04	FY03	FY04
	NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Responses Received From

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HGUAC Amendments

The amendments adopted by the House Government and Urban Affairs Committee strike “Native American” in the title and insert “Tribal” so that the bill now provides for “tribal” representation on the CHE; and edit a phrase in the bill to read a tribal group “that is fully or partially located in the state” instead of “fully or partially contained in the state.”

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 678 amends Section 21-1-29 NMSA 1978 to change the reference for appointment authority to the Commission on Higher Education from the “Educational Apportionment Act” to the “2001 Educational Redistricting Act;” and requires one of the three at-large-members to be a member of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo that is fully or partially contained in the state.

Significant Issues

The number of commissioner remains the same, and, consequently, the CHE has taken no position on the bill.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

This bill raises the question of whether it is desirable to statutorily require membership in an ethnic, language or social group as a criterion for appointment to a board or commission.

LRB/prr/ls