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

SPONSOR Picraux

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/02/06

HB 513

SHORT TITLE Create Jobs for Disabled Veterans

SB

ANALYST Geisler

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$350.0 Non-recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates: SB 514

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS)

Governor’s Commission on Disability (GCD)

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 513 appropriates $350,000 from the general fund in FY07 to the Veterans’ Services

Department to contract with a disability employment program to create jobs for disabled veterans

and other persons with disabilities.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Veterans’ Services does not anticipate any fiscal impact and will manage the contract within ex-

isting resources.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The federal Veterans Administration offers vocational training for disabled veterans, however,

they do not do job placement or job creation. This bill would assist disabled veterans by creating

House Bill 513 – Page

2

an avenue for these veterans to find employment. The DVS has the ability to identify and assist

these disabled veterans and put them in touch with a wider network of employers.

People with significant disabilities have an unemployment rate of 70%. Those with moderate

disabilities have a 35% unemployment rate. With the overall unemployment rate for New Mex-

ico at around 5%, this group is under represented in the job market.

By providing funding, HB 513 will help implement HB 498 State Use Act for Persons With Dis-

abilities passed during the 2005 session. That bill creates a council for purchasing from persons

with disabilities that will determine program policies, set fair market pricing for services that can

be provided to the state by groups such as community rehabilitation programs, and insure fair

treatment to disabled individuals. The council will approve a central non-profit agency to carry

out day-to-day operations.

In addition, the funding provided by this bill will help service disabled veteran small businesses

(SDVOSB) utilize the federal procurement set aside created for SDVOSBs by the Federal Veter-

ans Benefit Act of 2003

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DVS states that its field service officers would not see a significant increase in workload since

their function is to assist veterans.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

HB 513 is duplicated by SB 514.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Veterans and individuals with disabilities will continue to have extra barriers from being em-

ployed and being fully functional members of society.

GG/nt