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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Vaughn
DATE TYPED 01/27/05 HB 263
SHORT TITLE Suicide Prevention Resources
SB
ANALYST Ford
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
FY05
FY06
$750.0
Recurring General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates
SB 210
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Health (DOH)
Health Policy Commission (HPC)
Human Services Department (HSD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 263 appropriates $750 thousand from the general fund to the Department of Health
for the purpose of developing, implementing, evaluating, and contracting with a statewide colla-
tion of suicide prevention programs for a coordinated set of community-based, culturally appro-
priate suicide prevention programs and services.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
One of the performance measures for DOH is the suicide rate per 100 thousand suicides for
youth ages 15-24. This bill could help the department improve this performance measure.
pg_0002
House Bill 263 -- Page 2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $750 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall
revert to the general fund.
In his New Program Initiatives Recommendations, the Governor recommended $600 thousand
for a suicide prevention program. However, this request was not included in the agency’s budget
request submitted in September, 2004 and reviewed by the LFC.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
DOH would incur administrative costs to establish the request for proposals process, initiate con-
tracts, monitor and evaluate programs, collect and analyze data, and provide technical assistance.
DOH indicates that it already manages contracts for youth, parent, and community suicide edu-
cation programs in Santa Fe and surrounding areas. Currently 1.0 FTE is assigned to youth sui-
cide prevention efforts. DOH indicates that the obligations created by this bill may necessitate a
temporary shift of resources.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
House Bill 263 duplicates Senate Bill 210
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The statistics regarding suicide in New Mexico are alarming. According to DOH, New Mexico’s
suicide rate is nearly twice the national rate, ranking New Mexico fourth among all states. DOH
further writes that “…80% of psychiatrists, 70% of psychologists, 47% of social workers, and
53% of counselors are concentrated in Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties. Most of these behav-
ioral health practitioners do not have training for working with children or adolescents.”
The Governor created the Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force, which includes a multi-cultural
group of family members, mental health care providers, advocates, and young people who work
to develop strategies to prevent suicide and link these efforts to the schools. DOH also indicates
that a statewide coalition, the New Mexico Suicide Prevention Coalition, has been working with
DOH since April, 2003. The appropriation contained in House Bill 263 would be used to expand
and intensify existing suicide prevention efforts.
EF/rs