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 Taylor

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/30/2007

HB 358

SHORT TITLE Office of State Medical Investigator

SB

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$655.5

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the annual appropriation to UNM in the General Appropriation Act for the recurring

operations of the OMI.

Duplicates SB 95.

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 358 appropriates $655,460 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico for expenditure in FY 2008 for the Office of the Medical Investigator.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $655,460 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2008 shall revert to the

General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) reports experiencing severe increases in operating

expenses and caseload, and significant productivity declines due to staff shortages, increased

documentation requirements, and aged, obsolete equipment. Further, delays in the provision of

toxicology results from the State Laboratory Division (SLD) are seriously impacting the OMI

investigative processes, and families across the state are suffering a variety of financial hardships

due to the very late issuance of death certificates needed to settle insurance claims and to access

savings accounts.

House Bill 358 – Page

2

The forensic examination caseload at the Office of the Medical Investigator has increased by

approximately 21 percent over the past five years. At the same time, due to law enforcement

compliance and litigation, the amount of time required for each examination has increased by 40

percent. The national standard for autopsy caseload is 250 autopsies per pathologist annually.

The New Mexico OMI pathologists have been averaging close to 500 autopsies per year. The

funding proposed in this legislation would enable OMI to hire additional personnel to better

handle the caseload.

The proposal for $655,500 additional appropriation for FY08 was submitted to the New Mexico

Higher Education Department (HED) by UNM Health Sciences Center, but is not included in the

HED’s funding recommendation for FY08.

BM/nt