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

SPONSOR Pinto

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/30/06 HB

SHORT TITLE

TRIBAL LANDS TANF PROGRAMS

SB 8

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$1,500.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates Senate Bill 10

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

SUMMARY

Senate Bill 8 appropriates $1.5 million from the general fund to the Human Services Department

for the purpose of augmenting the temporary assistance for needy families programs on the

Navajo and Zuni tribal lands. $1 million is appropriated to the Navajo nation and $500 thousand

to the Zuni.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1.5 million 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.

Senate Bill 8 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Human Services reports the following:

Both the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Tribe operate a Tribal TANF program on their respective

tribal lands, which is approved and directly funded by the federal government. The bill would

supplement federal dollars by authorizing HSD to provide the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Tribe

with general fund monies to spend on their tribal TANF Programs.

The use of general fund monies to fund the Tribal TANF expenditures will avoid the legal

problems created by a 2003 appropriation of federal TANF monies associated with New

Mexico’s state TANF program for the tribes.

Under the federal law relating to the state TANF program, the state is required to expend a

specific amount of state general funds (so-called Maintenance of Effort, or MOE, funds) in

association with the State TANF program. States are authorized to use MOE funds or state funds

that are not MOE funds to supplement the funding for the Tribal TANF programs that comes

from the federal government requirement. HSD recommends that any tribal TANF funding not

be part of the state Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funds because several additional requirements

the tribes may have difficulty meeting (such as reporting, timing and reimbursement

requirements) may apply to the funding. Moreover, although the general fund dollars may be

credited toward the TANF MOE requirement, the legislature should be aware that complications

may arise under the federal TANF reauthorization bill, which is likely to pass this spring and

become effective 10/1/2006. Under the federal bill, if state MOE funds are used for cash

assistance, families must meet the federal work participation rates of 50% all families and 90%

2-parent families. This would be difficult for both the tribes/pueblos and HSD to track and

report. HSD may opt to exclude these general fund dollars from the MOE requirement, because

fewer legal restrictions apply if the state funds are not MOE funds and HSD recommends, in

fact, that any Tribal TANF funding not be part of the state MOE funds.

Since the Navajo Nation is located in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona and its tribal TANF

program operates in all three states, the bill should specify that the funding can be used only for

the New Mexico service population of the Navajo tribal TANF program

.

The Indian Affairs Department contributes:

The Pueblo of Zuni has administered the TANF program since July 2002 to address the high

concentration of poverty and unemployment on Pueblo lands. The TANF program helps clients

with getting an education or for seeking employment. (Testimony of Michelle Walela, Director

of the Zuni Education and Career Development Center, Pueblo of Zuni, 11/7/05, Minutes of the

Indian Affairs Committee, State Legislature)

The Navajo Nation TANF program has addressed the high rate of poverty and unemployment in

the Navajo Nation and developed a FY 2007 Service Plan. This service plan addresses the

Navajo Nation’s goal to assist those most in need to achieve self-reliance through the TANF

program for employment and educational pursuits. (Testimony of Roxanne Gorman, Navajo

Nation TANF Director, 11/7/05 Minutes of the Indian Affairs Committee, State Legislature).

Senate Bill 8 – Page

3

Both tribes have submitted their plans to increase services to the State as required in HB 2, 2005

Regular Session General Appropriations Act.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

These funds would not be related to the New Mexico state TANF program. To avoid confusion

consideration may be given to appropriating the funds to the Indian Affairs Department. Since

TANF programs are so varied consideration may be given to defining how the funds should be

used such as cash assistance, child care, work training program, education or administration.

MW/yr