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

SPONSOR Altamirano

DATE TYPED 02-25-05 HB

SHORT TITLE NMSU Extension Service Veterinarian

SB 885

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$200.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

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

Duplicates HB187

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico State University (NMSU)

College of Agriculture and Home Economics (CAHE)

New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 885 – Making an Appropriation to New Mexico State University for the Cooperative

Extension Service to Employ a Veterinarian for Animal Research and Education Services – ap-

propriates $200,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New Mexico State Univer-

sity for expenditure in FY06 to employ a veterinarian for animal health research and education

services through the Cooperative Extension Service. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance

remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the general fund.

Significant Issues

NMSU-CAHE indicates this bill addresses a critical need in the NMSU academic structure: at

present, the university does not have a veterinarian on faculty. While CAHE is generally ex-

Senate Bill 885 -- Page 2

pected to offer information and support to the state’s livestock industries, central to this respon-

sibility is the ability to provide specific assistance in a number of essential areas, including:

•

developing preventive herd health programs;

•

dealing with infectious disease outbreaks;

•

development of bio-security programs; and

•

addressing state and national animal disease regulations.

To this end, CAHE suggests that these, as well as other significant programs and issues, could be

best addressed by a veterinarian who, in addition to providing industry advice and assistance,

could also contribute to CAHE’s research, teaching and extended education curricula.

CHE notes that this request was not in the list of priority projects submitted by New Mexico

State University to the CHE for review. Accordingly, this request was not included in the com-

mission’s funding recommendation for FY06.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $200,000 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

New Mexico State University will retain oversight of this appropriation.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

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

Duplicates HB187 in that HB187 also seeks to appropriate $200,000 from the general fund to the

Board of Regents of New Mexico State University for expenditure in FY06 to employ a veteri-

narian for animal health research and education services through the Cooperative Extension Ser-

vice.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

CAHE suggests that an extension veterinarian would be a valuable asset to state and county ex-

tension faculty as they assist the New Mexico state veterinarian’s office and U.S. Department of

Agriculture’s, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in coping with infectious disease out-

breaks. CAHE notes that in past years, extension faculty have assisted with numerous disease

incidents including:

•

vesicular stomatitis and West Nile virus in horses;

•

tuberculosis, brucellosis, and Johne’s disease in beef and dairy cattle;

•

scrapie in sheep and goats;

•

chronic wasting disease in deer and elk;

•

exotic Newcastle disease and avian influenza in poultry.

Senate Bill 885 -- Page 3

Faculty have also provided information to the livestock industry and the general public regarding

concerns of bio-terrorism and bio-security, including concerns of bovine spongiform encephalo-

pathy (mad cow disease), foot-and-mouth disease and anthrax.

CAHE notes that livestock production accounts for $1.38 billion annually in farm and ranch in-

come, with beef and dairy animals and milk production accounting for approximately 97 percent

of the total dollars. As New Mexico continues to be one of the fastest growing dairy states in the

nation, CAHE believes that an extension veterinarian is central to the economy and welfare of

the state’s livestock industry.

CHE observes that higher education institutions receive indirect cost revenues from federal con-

tracts and grants. This money is unrestricted in the sense that the governing board of the institu-

tion has the flexibility to choose which projects are supported with these funds. A great deal of

this money is used as seed money to develop new research and public services projects at institu-

tions. A portion of the indirect cost revenue, and earned overhead, is used to support items such

as the salaries of the accountants responsible for monitoring the contract and grants, or for pay-

ing utilities and other expenses required to maintain the space where the contract and grant ac-

tivities are housed. Further, that the higher education funding formula allows institutions to re-

tain 100 percent of this indirect cost revenue. One of the purposes of retaining these funds is to

provide seed money and matching funds for projects such as the one proposed in this bill.

CHE further suggests – assuming that funding will continue beyond FY06 – that consideration

might be given to requiring New Mexico State University to submit a plan for program evalua-

tion, including specific program goals and criteria for assessing program effectiveness to the

Legislative Finance Committee and the Commission on Higher Education by October 1, 2005.

Further that the university should also submit a program evaluation to the Legislative Finance

Committee and the Commission on Higher Education by June 30, 2008 detailing the benefits to

the State of New Mexico from having this program implemented for a three-year period.

BFW/yr