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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Garcia, M.H.
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/31/06
HB 373
SHORT TITLE US-Mexico Border Economic Development
SB
ANALYST Earnest
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$100.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Economic Development Department (EDD)
Border Authority (BA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 373 appropriates $100 thousand from the general fund to the Economic Development
Department for a bi-national, regional and technology-based economic development program on
the US-Mexico border.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $100 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 2007 shall
revert to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory (BNSL) opened a facility in Santa Teresa, NM, in
November 2005. The BNSL partners with universities, national laboratories, and governments
from Mexico and the United States to address issues in the border region, including: energy, wa-
ter and environmental degradation.
pg_0002
House Bill 373 – Page 2
According to the Economic Development Department website, BNSL consists of the US/Mexico
border states – California, Baja California, Sonora, Arizona, Chihuahua, New Mexico, Coahuila,
Texas, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas. Funding for the project has come from Mexico
($400,000), New Mexico ($100,000), and FUMEC, which was awarded $400,000 from the US
Economic Development Administration.
This appropriation would continue funding at the same level in FY07.
According to the Border Authority, New Mexico’s international ports are at a competitive disad-
vantage to nearby Texas ports. Improved technologies in production and the integration of sup-
ply and distribution chains, customs brokerage and freight forwarding, and customs processing
on both sides of the border would significantly improve our state’s competitiveness. New Mex-
ico can offer unique economic development opportunities when technology is applied to com-
plementary bi-national projects that can be located adjacent to one another at the border.
BE/yr