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

SPONSOR Griego

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/1/06

2/6/06 HB

SHORT TITLE Liquor Excise Distribution to Local DWI Fund

SB 525/aSCORC

ANALYST Schardin

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

FY08

9,994.0

10,193.4 Recurring Local DWI

Grant Fund

(9,994.0)

(10,193.4) Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Conflicts with HB477, HB435.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

Bernalillo County Metro Court (BCMC)

Department of Transportation (DOT)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SCORC Amendment

The Senate Corporations Committee amendment to Senate Bill 525 restores language found in

current law to allow drug courts to continue to receive funding from the local DWI grant fund.

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 525 would increase the percentage of liquor excise tax revenue that is distributed into

the local DWI grant fund from 34.57 percent to 60 percent. Doing so would cause the percentage

of liquor excise tax revenue that is distributed into the general fund to decrease from the current

level of 65.43 percent to 40 percent.

The bill would designate how additional local DWI grant fund revenue will be distributed

Senate Bill 525/aSCORC – Page

2

amongst New Mexico’s counties and the state’s five alcohol detoxification and treatment centers.

Part of the new revenue to the local DWI grant fund would be used to increase the amount of

funding available for grants to New Mexico counties.

The bill would eliminate an existing annual appropriation of $300 thousand from the local DWI

grant fund to the local government division of DFA to cover the costs of installing ignition inter-

lock devices for indigent people who are required by law to install ignition interlock devices on

their vehicles.

The effective date of this bill is July 1, 2006.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

According to the January 2006 consensus revenue estimate, total liquor excise tax revenue is ex-

pected to be $39.3 million in FY07. Under current law, the local DWI grant fund would receive

34.57 percent ($13.6 million) and the general fund would receive 65.43 percent ($25.7 million).

Senate Bill 525 would increase the local DWI grant fund distribution to 60 percent ($23.6 mil-

lion) and decrease the general fund distribution to 40 percent ($15.7 million). The total impact

will be $10.0 million.

The bill would increase the annual distributions to the state’s five county alcohol detoxification

and treatment centers from $2.8 to $4.36 million. $1 million of this increase will be used to fund

a new alcohol treatment facility in De Baca County to serve an eight-county region.

The bill would also increase the amount of funding for grants to New Mexico’s 33 counties from

about $8.0 million to about $16.7 million.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to a report from UNM’s Division of Government Research, 40 percent of all fatal

crashes in New Mexico involved alcohol in 2004.

The additional $10.0 million distributed to the local DWI grant fund would be distributed

amongst New Mexico’s 33 counties based on a formula that considers the amount of retail trade

gross receipts and the number of alcohol-related crashes in each county relative to the amount of

retail trade and the number of alcohol-related crashes statewide.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The bill will increase the administrative responsibilities of DFA’s Local Government Division,

which administers the local DWI grant fund.

DOH will need to oversee the new treatment center in De Baca County funded by this bill. This

will require about ¼ FTE and three site visits per year to ensure quality of services provided.

The bill will require TRD to make minor administrative changes.

Senate Bill 525/aSCORC – Page

3

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 525 conflicts with House Bill 435 and House Bill 477, which increase the local DWI

grant share of liquor excise tax revenue and create different ways for the additional DWI grant

money to be distributed.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Page 4-5: What will be the impacts of removing the $300 thousand per year appropriation to

DFA to fund ignition interlock device installation for indigent people.

SS/yr