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

SPONSOR Vigil

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/07

HB 707

SHORT TITLE San Miguel Del Vado Agricultural Education

SB

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$25.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 707 appropriates $25.0 in General Fund to the Local Government Division of the

Department of Finance and Administration for a pilot agricultural education program for youth

in the valley of San Miguel del Vado.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $25.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the General

Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

DFA notes that the appropriation will fund a pilot project that allows for intergenerational

interaction with elders from the Valley of San Miguel del Vado in San Miguel County. The

elders will teach children basic agricultural techniques. Many areas of rural New Mexico are

faced with the problem of youth moving away from the farming and ranching areas to seek

employment in larger communities throughout the State. Subsequently much of the knowledge

House Bill 707 – Page

2

of traditional and cultural agricultural methods are being lost. The resources including land and

water, however, are still available.

This agricultural education program is similar to successful mentoring programs such as those

operating through Department of Labor and Department of Aging and Long-term Care Services.

These mentoring intergenerational programs have significantly benefited both the elderly as a

means to pass on the knowledge and experience they possess and the youth who require the

direction and supervision that is lacking with those families with single parents.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The bill does not identify the local government that will be responsible for administration of the

project. Since this is a project intended for a rural area of San Miguel County, DFA recommends

that the language of the bill include San Miguel County as the administrators of the project.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The bill does not address the specific expenditures that are intended for this appropriation which

should include costs for agricultural items such as seeds, fertilizers and basic tools.

ALTERNATIVES

DFA suggests directing the funding to existing mentoring programs through Department of

Labor or Department of Aging and Long-term Care Services.

WEP/mt