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

SPONSOR Harrison

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/8/06

HB 780

SHORT TITLE McKinley County Food 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 HB 231 (Food Banks For Public Schoolchildren).

Relates to

SB 507

(

Food Banks For Public Schoolchildren).

Relates to SB 610

(

School-Based Food Pantry Program).

Relates to SB 617 (McKinley County Food Distribution).

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 780 appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the Local Government Division

of the Department of Finance and Administration to operate a community pantry food program

in McKinley county.

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.

House Bill 780 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA),

McKinley County is one of

the poorest counties in the country. It has a population of 74,000 with approximately 36% at or

below the poverty level, and 50% meeting the USDA definition of food insecurity.

DFA notes that the Community Pantry serves approximately 2,000 families per week with an

average of 15,000 pounds of produce. Eighty percent of their clients are Native American.

McKinley County is rural, and many of the people served are in remote locations. A vehicle dis-

tributing food can put on 30,000 miles in a year.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DFA indicates that these funds will be administered through the department’s Local Government

Division, which already has the staff and the knowledge to fund and monitor this project.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

DFA notes that this bill relates/overlaps with SB 617, which appropriates $50,000 for a program

to help provide for the collection and distribution of free or reduced-cost food and necessities to

low-income residents of McKinley County (the Community Pantry).

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

According to the DFA,

the Community Pantry has no budget to continue general operations and

food distribution. Funding from private foundation grants is no longer available, and although

they receive some money through the New Mexico Association of Food Banks, it is not enough

to continue to operate and maintain their food storage facilities. Without additional funding, the

Community Pantry will have to severely curtail or stop the delivery of food.

ML/mt