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

SPONSOR Fidel

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/4/06

HB

SHORT TITLE Community College High Skills Training

SB 416

ANALYST Earp

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$600.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates House Bill 402

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 416 appropriates $600,000 from the general fund to the Higher Education Depart-

ment to be distributed to eligible community colleges for noncredit high-skills training pursuant

to the provisions of the Workforce Training Act.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $600,000 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. These funds would augment a recurring appropriation of $600,000 made to

HED for this purpose in the General Appropriation Act.

Senate Bill 416 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

This proposal was not included among the special program funding requests included in the HED

fiscal year 2007 funding recommendations to the Legislature.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The current appropriation for high-skills training is administered by HED and flows to the New

Mexico Association of Community Colleges (NMACC). NMACC determines and oversees the

distribution of funds to the community colleges. It is anticipated that this administrative ar-

rangement would continue if the expansion funding provided though this legislation is approved.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 402 and Senate Bill 416 are duplicate measures.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

HED reports that the state appropriation provides matching funds to the community colleges for

the development, expansion and support of high-skills training programs. The colleges work with

small and large employers to design and provide customized training, adapted to their actual

business needs and the technical training needs of their employees. Employees receive this spe-

cial training to obtain or advance in employment. Colleges track entities served, number of indi-

viduals trained and contact hours. NMACC determines the appropriate funding to the community

colleges based on the number of credit hours generated.

This customized training supplements the State's workforce development efforts and offers op-

portunities for state residents to obtain the skills necessary to provide a well-trained workforce

for New Mexico employers. The funding also enables community colleges to better respond to

the needs of their communities and participate in attracting, retaining, and recruiting employers

that can provide employment for trained workers.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

If this bill is enacted, will the available state funding (approximately $1.2 million in total) be suf-

ficient to fully-fund the high-skills training programs at all eligible colleges. If not, what is the

estimated total funding need for this program.

DKE/nt