Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

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

SPONSOR Pinto

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/6/06

HB

SHORT TITLE NM Tech Math & Science Career Preparation

SB 618

ANALYST Earp

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$40.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SB 415, S595, HB 463 and HB 756

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 618 appropriates $40,000 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the New

Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMTech) for expenditure in FY07 for an organiza-

tion dedicated to preparing students for careers in mathematics, engineering, and the sciences.

The appropriation shall be used to expand the programs of the organization to Tohatchi middle

school and Zuni high school. The organization to be supported through the appropriation is ap-

parently New Mexico Math, Engineering & Science Achievement, Inc. (NM MESA).

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $40,000 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.

For fiscal year 2006, HED received an appropriation of $914,400 for this program and NMTech

submitted a fiscal year 2007 program change request to the HED in the amount of $162,000, for

Senate Bill 618 – Page

2

a total of $1,076,400. The base level of funding is included in the General Appropriation Act

and, as of the date of this report, expansion funding in the amount of $80,000 is included in

SFCS/SB 415.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

An expansion proposal in the amount of $162,000 for NM MESA was included among the spe-

cial program funding requests submitted by NMTech to HED for review. This proposal was not

included in the HED fiscal year 2007 funding recommendations to the Legislature.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

NMTech serves as fiscal agent and host to the New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering Science

Achievement (NM MESA) Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes educational enrichment

for middle and high school students from historically under-represented ethnic groups. Funding

for this program has been made in recent years through the HED, which distributes the funding

to NMTech.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

This bill is related to House Bill 463 and Senate Bill 595. These are duplicate measures which

appropriate $162,000 for expansion of NM MESA programs.

This bill is also related to HB 756 which appropriates $18,000 for NM MESA program expan-

sion at Sierra middle school in Chaves County.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Information provided through HED indicates that NM MESA, in partnership with schools and

universities, prepares these pre-college students for college and careers in mathematics, engi-

neering, science, and related fields. NM MESA proposes to expand programs to reach under-

served students in communities across the state. Currently there are MESA programs in one-third

of New Mexico's public school districts, but less than 10% of state supported secondary schools.

These funds will be earmarked to add 12 MESA programs in each of the six regions of the state:

Central, North Central, North, Southeast, Southwest, and West. These programs will be sup-

ported by statewide and regional offices located in Gallup, Las Vegas (NMHU), Las Cruces,

(NMSU), Roswell (ENMU), and Albuquerque (UNM & NM Tech).

NM MESA is based on a model that originated in 1970 at the University of California at Berke-

ley. Founded in 1982, NM MESA has grown to provide thousands of middle, junior high, and

high school students with year-round support and career guidance. In the 2003-2004 school year,

NM MESA served approximately 4,900 students in 101 schools and 31 school districts. NM

MESA is governed by a board composed of bipartisan legislative representation (both state and

federal); representatives of local and national companies; secondary schools; state universities; et

al. Financial support is provided by the State of New Mexico; numerous state and national corpo-

rations and foundations; federal agencies; and private donations.

DKE/mt