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

SPONSOR Hall

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/06/2007

HB 388

SHORT TITLE NMSU 4-H Outreach Program

SB

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$500.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 60.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Higher Education Department (HED)

New Mexico State University – College of Agriculture & Home Economics (NMSU-CAHE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 388 appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of New

Mexico State University for expenditure in FY 2008 to pay for a 4-H outreach program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $500,000 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

New Mexico State University’s 4-H Program is involved in partnerships throughout New

Mexico with volunteers efforts. Last year 5,220 adult 4-H volunteers contributed over 260,000

hours of volunteer service to the youth of our state, which if that service had been provided by

paid staff, would have cost $4,690,400.

House Bill 388 – Page

2

This proposal was submitted to the New Mexico Higher Education Department by NMSU but

was not included in the Department's funding recommendation for FY08.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The principal objectives of this request will focus on providing 4-H outreach programs to

underserved youth in eight selected counties impacting an estimated 5,000 students per year.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service and 4-H Youth Development was

the recipient of four federal grants totaling $2,542,815 over a five year period beginning in 2001

to establish 4-H Outreach Agents in 14 counties in New Mexico. To date over 40,000 youth

have been involved in this program. These were three year grants and the funding is being

completed this year. The purpose was to fulfill a commitment to reaching a diverse new youth

audience with programs that develop life skills and supplement the local schools with curriculum

that provides experiential educational programs.

The Department of Higher Education has noted that, in 2005-2006, more than 74,000 of our

state’s youth were involved in life skill education through 4-H, making 4-H the largest youth

development program in New Mexico. 4-H provides educational opportunities through which

youth can learn information and develop the skills they need. The 4-H Youth Development

Program emphases 35 life skills including: leadership, responsible citizenship, critical thinking,

problem solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, respect for others, and communication

that directly contribute to the successful transition of young people into productive adulthood

.

BM/csd