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

SPONSOR Marquardt

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/09/06

HB 708

SHORT TITLE Lottery Scholarships for Military Dependents

SB

ANALYST Williams

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

Roughly $145.0 Recurring (with esca-

lation over time)

Lottery Tuition

Scholarship Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to numerous student financial aid and lottery scholarship bills

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

The bill expands eligibility for lottery tuition scholarships to military dependents stationed in

New Mexico who graduate from a New Mexico high school. The parents of these students may

maintain a “permanent home of record” in another state.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

HED notes the impact of participation on the lottery program is minimal. Since most families

eligible for the expanded eligibility in this bill would be affiliated with the Air Force, HED util-

ized data on active duty military, age distributions and Census data reflecting the percentage of

households with 18 year old dependents. Further, the HED applied historical averages of percent

of high school students continuing on to college, qualifying for the lottery tuition scholarship and

persisting in post-secondary studies, while maintaining scholarship eligibility.

House Bill 708 – Page

2

In sum, HED estimates about 50 students would enter the program under the provisions of this

bill, with a first year cost of $145.2 thousand based on historical attendance patterns. The cost

would escalate over time as additional eligible cohorts entered the program.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED notes: Qualifications for the Lottery Success Scholarship are:

•

New Mexico residency;

•

Graduation form a New Mexico public, accredited private, parochial, BIA or home high

school, or completion of a New Mexico Graduate Equivalent Diploma (GED);

•

Full-time (12 credit hours) enrollment at an eligible New Mexico public college or uni-

versity in the first regular semester immediately following high school graduation; and

•

Maintenance of a minimum 2.5 grade point average.

ALTERNATIVES

HED notes military dependents will still qualify for in-state tuition rates and could apply for fed-

eral financial aid, institutional and private scholarships.

AW/nt