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

SPONSOR Picraux

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/06/2007

2/9/2007 HB 383/aHEC

SHORT TITLE UNM Geographic Alliance Program

SB

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$500.0 Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 217

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Energy, Minerals, & Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

Public Education Department (PED)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HEC Amendment

The House Education Committee amendment establishes the purpose of HB 383 as “establishing

and endowment," not addressed in the original bill.

The amendment also clarifies that the New Mexico Geographic Alliance Program provides

geographic education in public schools.

Finally, the amendment converts the appropriation from reverting to non-reverting to be more

consistent with the concept of an endowment.

This bill, as amended, is a duplicate of SB 217a.

House Bill 383/aHEC – Page

2

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 383 appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to the Regents of UNM for

expenditure in FY 2008 to fund the New Mexico Geographic Alliance (NMGA).

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $500,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the General

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

the General Fund.

The University of New Mexico confirms this request for $500,000 is non-recurring and will be

matched by National Geographic to establish an endowment for geographic education in New

Mexico (UNM Legislative Priorities, 2007). The endowment will provide continuing funding for

NMGA.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to UNM, the $500,000 requested are non-recurring funds to be matched by the

National Geographic Society Alliance to establish an endowment for geographic education in

New Mexico. The endowment will provide continuing funding for NMGA. NMGA links

professional geographers at colleges and universities with K-12 teachers throughout the state of

New Mexico. The goal is to improve geography education at the K-12 level.

The New Mexico Geographic Alliance was formed in 1992 as a collaboration of the National

Geographic Society and the University of New Mexico. The Alliance offers a variety of

programs for teachers, parents, and school districts including:

•

Alliance Summer Geography Institute

•

Alliance Advanced Summer Geography Institute

•

Curriculum Materials Development

•

National Geographic Society Geographic Bee

•

Geography for Life

•

Geography Outreach

•

In-Service Workshops

•

Advanced Placement Geography

•

Reading Through Geography

•

Conferences

•

Mentoring Induction

This request was submitted by UNM to HED for review, but is not included in the Department’s

funding recommendation for FY08.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

HB 383 is a duplicate of SB 217.

House Bill 383/aHEC – Page

3

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The University of New Mexico and analyses of HB 383 mention an “endowment" that will

provide continuing funding for this project. The bill, however, does not address the issues of an

endowment. Section 21-1-38 outlines some of the procedures relating to endowment funds.

21-1-38. Definition; requirements for adoption of investment policy for investing

endowment funds.

A. As used in this section:

(1) "endowment funds" means funds:

(a) acquired by gift by an educational institution with respect to which the donors or other

outside agencies have stipulated as a condition of the gift, and the stipulation is expressed

specifically in the gift instrument, that the principal is to be maintained and invested for the

purpose of producing current and future income that may either be added to the principal or

expended, and the maintenance of the principal may be either: 1) held inviolate and in perpetuity;

or 2) expended after the passage of a stated period of time or upon the happening of a specified

event; and

(b) notwithstanding the source of acquisition, that the governing board of the educational

institution has determined and has designated by a written instrument, either revocable or

irrevocable, to be retained for long-term investment; and

(2) "educational institution" means an educational institution designated in Article 12,

Section

11

of the constitution of New Mexico and any post-secondary educational institution, which term

includes, but is not limited to, an academic, vocational, technical, business, professional or other

school, college or university or other organization or person offering or purporting to offer

courses, instruction, training or education through correspondence or in person, to any individual

within this state over the compulsory school attendance age, if that post-secondary educational

institution is directly supported in whole or in part by state or local taxation.

B. The board of finance, as that term is defined in Section 6-10-9

NMSA 1978, for each of the

educational institutions:

(1) shall adopt regulations governing the investment of endowment funds by the institution's

board of finance, which regulations shall provide at least for:

(a) the application of the investment standard of conduct described in Section 6-8-10

NMSA

1978 and the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act [46-9-1

NMSA 1978] as the

standard for evaluating an investment;

(b) the appointment of an investment advisory committee made up of individuals having

demonstrated experience and skill in the field of the investment of endowment funds; and

(c) the development of a comprehensive investment policy for the investment of endowment

funds by the institution, with the advice and upon the recommendation of the investment

committee; and

(2) may employ an institutional endowment funds investment manager and delegate to him

the power to make purchases, sales exchanges, investments and reinvestments of endowment

funds.

BM/csd