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

SPONSOR Garcia, Mary Helen

DATE TYPED 02/22/05 HB 160/aHEC

SHORT TITLE NMSU College Assistant Migrant Program

SB

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$160.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the appropriation for New Mexico State University in the General Appropriations Act.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Pubic Education Department (PED)

New Mexico State University (NMSU)

New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

New Mexico Department of Labor (DOL)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HEC Amendment

House Education Committee amendment to HB160 amends the legislation as follows:

•

On page 1, line 11: the word “ASSISTANT” is removed, with the word

“ASSISTANCE” inserted in lieu thereof.

•

On page 1, line 18: after the word college, the word “assistant” is removed,

with the word “assistance” inserted in lieu thereof.

This amendment adds no additional appropriation to the legislation.

House Bill 160/aHEC -- Page 2

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 160 – Making an Appropriation for the College Assistant Migrant Program to the

Board of Regents of New Mexico State University – appropriates $160,000 from the general

fund to the Board of Regents of New Mexico State University for expenditure in FY06 to fund

the College Assistant Migrant Program to support the educational needs of migrant and seasonal

farm workers. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall

revert to the general fund.

Significant Issues

NMSU indicates that in 2002, the Department of Education awarded NMSU the College Assis-

tance Migrant Program (NMSU-CAMP) grant to serve the educational needs of migrant/seasonal

farm workers. The NMSU-CAMP program only serves U.S. citizens and permanent residents

who are full-time freshmen students at NMSU. Migrant/seasonal farm work includes any agri-

cultural activity directly related to the production of crops, dairy products, poultry or livestock,

and/or the cultivation or harvesting of trees or work in fish farms.

NMSU notes that CAMP students have worked in various types of conventional and organic

farms throughout New Mexico including:

•

Cebolla and Mora in Northern New Mexico;

•

Hagerman, Dexter and Artesia in Eastern New Mexico;

•

Animas in Western New Mexico; and

•

Hatch, Salem, and Chamberino in Southern New Mexico, among other locations.

Further, NMSU-CAMP students represent a mixture of New Mexicans ranging from first genera-

tion to fourth generation New Mexicans working on small family subsistence farms to large-

scale dairy and agricultural operations. Other students who have participated in NMSU-CAMP

come from Texas, Colorado, and California. The program offers the first line of support to en-

sure NMSU-CAMP student success in their first year at the university as well as maintaining

communication with former CAMP students to guarantee that they receive the support required

for graduation.

NMSU further indicates that the goals of CAMP are:

•

to address the achievement gap of farm worker students in higher education and bridge

educational outreach issues within this population;

•

to see each CAMP student graduate from NMSU with a bachelor’s degree;

•

to provide students with free housing, free meal plans at the university cafeteria, free

comprehensive health exams, free art and cultural activities, free tutoring and mentoring,

free leadership training workshops, and monthly student stipends to assist with school

supplies; and.

House Bill 160/aHEC -- Page 3

•

to provide overall educational support and communication with family, community

members, and university administrators that serve as the educational support network for

each student.

CHE indicates that this request was not in the list of priority projects submitted by NNMSU to

CHE for review. Accordingly, it was not included in the commission’s funding recommendation

for FY06.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $160,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the gen-

eral fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

NMSU would retain oversight of the program.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to the appropriation for NMSU in the General Appropriations Act.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

As general background information to CAMP, NMSU offers the following observations:

•

It enables NMSU to further institutionalize its first and only program assisting mi-

grant/seasonal farm workers that are so critical to our regional and state prosperity.

•

Through CAMP, the state of New Mexico and NMSU take a lead in moving toward bet-

ter collaborations with community members, community initiatives, and in fulfilling the

overall goals of the university’s land grant mission.

•

This farm worker student population is more apt than others to remain in New Mexico

and contribute back to their communities. This student population will return to their

closely-knit families and communities to further promote our University and continued

education with younger siblings and younger generations of community members.

•

This farm worker student population will help sustain the small and often rural communi-

ties they come from by serving as the future educators, leaders, and policy makers in their

home region.

PED adds that, in general, migrant students attend college at lower rates than other groups. The

CAMP program provides financial and academic support to migrant students to enable them to

attend and succeed in college. Many migrant students do not attend institutions of higher learn-

ing due to repeated moves from school district to school district and the lack of coordination be-

tween school districts and states. PED further suggests that New Mexico’s migrant program

House Bill 160/aHEC -- Page 4

achieves three central objectives:

•

it removes the barriers that exist for migrant students that impede graduation;

•

it increases the number of migrant students attending college by ensuring a seamless tran-

sition into college; and

•

it significantly helps students – who are often first generation college students – assimi-

late to college life and graduate from their chosen institution.

BFW/sb:lg