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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

2/1/06

2/9/06 HB 413/aHAFC

SHORT TITLE Homeland Security and Emergency Management Act SB

ANALYST Peery

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

NA

NA

NA

NA

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Public Safety (DPS)

Governor’s Office/Homeland Security (GHS)

Department of Military Affairs (DMA)

No Responses Received From

NM Municipal League (NMML)

NM Association of Counties (NMAC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HAFC Amendment

The House Appropriation and Finance Committee Amendment to House Bill 413 calls for delet-

ing on page one, line 13 and 14 the following: “MAKING AN APPROPRIATION”. Also, the

amendment calls for on page 38 deleting Section 35 that deals with appropriation in its entirety

and renumbering the succeeding sections.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 413 creates the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Act that would es-

tablish an adjunct agency. The proposed legislation would remove the Office of Emergency

Management program from DPS and the Office of Homeland Security from the Governor’s Of-

fice to create a separate agency the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The executive director of the office is to be appointed by the governor with the advice and con-

House Bill 413/aHAFC – Page 2

sent of the senate. The director shall serve as the governor’s homeland security advisor. The

purpose of the act is to:

•

consolidate and coordinate homeland security and emergency management functions to pro-

vide comprehensive and coordinated preparedness, mitigation, prevention, protection, re-

sponse and recovery for emergencies and disasters, regardless of cause, and acts of terrorism;

•

act as the central primary coordinating agency for the state and its political subdivisions in

response to emergencies, disasters and acts of terrorism; and

•

act as the conduit for federal assistance and cooperation in response to emergencies, disasters

and acts of terrorism.

The proposed legislation updates statute in regards to establishing the Office of Homeland Secu-

rity and Emergency Management.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The Office of Emergency Management program in DPS had a budget request of $29,271,900 for

FY07. Currently, the Office of Emergency Management has 39 FTEs. The Office of Homeland

Security in the Governor’s Office had a budget request of $350,000 for FY07. The Office of

Homeland Security has 3 FTEs. The combined budgets would give the proposed Office of

Homeland Security and Emergency Management a budget of approximately $29,621,900 and 42

FTEs.

New Mexico received $19.7 million in homeland security funding in federal fiscal year 2005.

Eighty percent of the total grant must flow through to local jurisdictions composed of the 33

counties and the city of Albuquerque. No more than 20 percent of the grant can be retained by

the state and, of that 20 percent, 3 percent may be used for administrative and management costs.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Legislative Finance Committee has expressed concern that the state’s homeland security op-

erations were not clearly organized. A year ago, responsibility for administration of federal

homeland security grants was divided between the Office of the Governor and the Office of

Emergency Management in the DPS. Some other operational responsibilities were also shared.

The homeland security advisor served both the in the Office of the Governor and as deputy sec-

retary of DPS. The homeland security advisor lacked clear statutory authority to allow her to

assume command of all sate agencies in the event of a terrorist incident. To address these con-

cerns, the Legislature passed House Bill 891, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security

in statute. The legislation was vetoed.

In February 2005, the homeland security advisor resigned amid the controversy over the use of

federal funds. The current homeland security advisor reviewed the state’s homeland security op-

erations and, in addition to moving grant administration to DPS, implemented changes to sim-

plify and clarify the organization of these activities. Although these changes represented a sig-

nificant improvement over the existing situation, the homeland security advisor continues to

wear two hats: that of a policy advisor and interagency coordinator in the Office of the Governor

and that of the deputy secretary of DPS. This “double-hatting” has the potential of creating con-

fusion over the lines of authority during an emergency. Currently, the Office of Homeland Secu-

rity is not authorized under statute.

House Bill 413/aHAFC – Page 3

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

DPS reports the removal of the Office of Emergency Management program would be a great loss

to the department. DPS states this does not preclude the department from maintaining a close

working relationship with the proposed Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Manage-

ment. DPS states a close relationship is essential because of the roles each agency plays in se-

curing the state and coordinating the response to potential emergencies that may occur within

New Mexico.

DMA states it is unknown as to the dimensions of consolidating these various state entities into

different administrative and organizational units for emergency response purposes.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The combining of Office of Emergency Management in DPS and the Office of Homeland Secu-

rity in the Governor’s Office would give the proposed Office of Homeland Security and Emer-

gency Management 42 FTEs. Currently, the Office of Emergency Management has 39 FTEs and

a historical vacancy rate of 35 percent.

The proposed legislation calls for all functions, personnel, money, appropriations, records, furni-

ture, equipment and other property of the Office of Emergency Management in DPS and the Of-

fice of Homeland Security in the Governor’s Office be transferred to the proposed Office of

Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

RLP/yr:mt