Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

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

SPONSOR Stapleton

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/7/06

HB 641

SHORT TITLE UNM African-American Studies Program

SB

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SB 421 (UNM African-American Studies Program)

Relates to SB 549 (UNM African-American Student Services)

Relates to HC 937 (Capital Improvements in Albuquerque – including $25,000 to purchase and

install information technology for the African-American Studies Program at UNM)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Office of African American Affairs (OAAA)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 641 appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the Uni-

versity of New Mexico for the African American Studies Department for:

1)

programs for high school students and university freshmen to help them bridge the academic

achievement gap and prepare them for university coursework in the field of African Ameri-

can studies;

2)

fellowships and assistantships for graduate and postdoctoral students; and

3)

a distinguished lecture series in African American studies.

House Bill 641 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100,000 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.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The State Office of African American Affairs (OAAA) supports HB 641, and notes that UNM’s

African American Studies Department is in need of funding to provide educational training,

internships for students and to be able provide teaching fellowships and assistantships for

African Americans who are seeking advanced academic degrees with an emphasis on African

American Studies.

The OAAA further states that additional funding is needed to support comprehensive projects

and programs geared towards closing the academic achievement gap between African American

students and non-minority students. To accomplish this, the African American Studies Depart-

ment must be financially able to offer freshmen and high school students the opportunity to pre-

pare themselves with basic academic classes, seminars and related preparatory activities.

Finally, the OAAA supports the initiative to secure distinguished African Americans to present a

series of lectures in the area of African American Studies to UNM students and the community.

According to the Higher Education Department (HED),

the African American Studies Program

at UNM was championed by the Black community in Albuquerque and established in 1970. It is

a multi-disciplinary degree-granting program that offers courses that illuminate the literature,

history, and culture of the African or Black Diaspora. Upon graduation, participants should have

developed strong research, writing, and interpersonal skills. The Charlie Morrisey Research Hall,

a repository of documents about Black people of the Southwest, has documents, books and ar-

chival artifacts which document the presence of Africans and African Americans in New Mexico

and the Southwest.

Citing the Education Commission of the States, HED defines the achievement gap as the dispar-

ity in academic achievement separating economically disadvantaged students and students of

color from less disadvantaged students. Below-par achievement of minority students nationally

remains one of the most pressing problems in education. Black, Hispanic, and American Indian

students are much more likely than white students to fall behind in school and drop out, and

much less likely to graduate from high school, achieve a college or advanced degree, or earn a

middle-class living. A variety of factors affect the achievement gap including students’ racial

and/or economic background, their parents’ education level, their access to high-quality pre-

school instruction, school funding, peer influences, teachers’ expectations, and curricular and

instructional quality.

This appropriation was not on the list of priority projects submitted by UNM to the HED for re-

view and was not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY07.

ML/yr