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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Varela
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/29/06
HB 328
SHORT TITLE English as a Second Language Programming
SB
ANALYST Hoffmann
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$1,000.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates SB 54
Related to SB 52
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Human Services Department (HSD)
Public Education Department (PED)
Higher Education Department (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 328 appropriates $1,000,000 from the general fund to the Higher Education Depart-
ment for expenditure in fiscal year 2007 to provide more English as a Second Language (ESL)
programming.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $1,000,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert
to the general fund.
According to the Human Services Department, these general fund dollars may be credited toward
the TANF Maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement for funds spent to serve TANF eligible
(100% of poverty) families. English as a Second Language (ESL) programs are considered
TANF non-assistance by definition; it would be advantageous to credit this as TANF MOE.
pg_0002
House Bill 328 – Page 2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Executive budget recommendation included $400,000 from the general fund for Adult Basic
Education (ABE) to replace federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funding
that was discontinued in fiscal year 2006. The LFC budget recommendation did not include any
line-item funding for this purpose.
If the legislature wishes to adopt this bill and obtain any available matching federal funds, the
Human Services Department recommends that the bill be amended to add language about TANF
MOE certification. The department also recommends amending the bill to clarify that this is sup-
plemental funding for ABE specific to ESL programming
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The Higher Education Department states that the $1 million appropriation will enable adult basic
education programs to reach more students and provide more ESL instructional services. They
claim that without this funding, HED will not be able to reach the following FY07 performance
goals for students:
32% will earn educational level gains
75% will retain or improve employment
10% will earn a high school equivalency diploma (GED)
DUPLICATION AND RELATIONSHIP
This is a duplicate of Senate Bill 54.
Senate Bill 54 is related to Senate Bill 52, which appropriates $500,000 to the Higher Education
Department to for Adult Basic Education (ABE).
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The Public Education Department notes that support for the English as a Second Language pro-
grams for adult learners may have a positive impact in closing the achievement gap between
them and English Language Learners in the New Mexico public schools.
The Human Services Department notes that individuals who do not speak English have a signifi-
cant barrier to meet employment goals in HSD work programs, including the TANF New Mex-
ico Works Program.
CH/mt