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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Steinborn
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
02/13/07
HB 716
SHORT TITLE Dona Ana Emergency Medicine Dispensing
SB
ANALYST Geisler
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$60.0
Recurring
General
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates: Senate Bill 472
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Health (DOH)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 716 would appropriate $60,000 from the general fund to the Department of Health
(DOH) for expenditure in FY 08 to pay for emergency medicine dispensing services in Dona
Ana County. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of the fiscal year
2008 shall revert to the general fund.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
There is no funding for this program in the proposed FY08 operating budget of the Department
of Health.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to representatives of the local behavioral health collaborative, HB716 would provide
funding for a mental health professional who can prescribe medications for individuals who have
an immediate need for medication to avert a medical and/or psychiatric crisis. Most likely, DOH
pg_0002
House Bill 716 – Page
2
would contract with an agency that would have a psychiatric nurse practitioner who could
oversee prescribing.
Several things increase the number of mentally ill people in Dona Ana County beyond what
would be expected in a county with its population: proximity to El Paso and the porous Mexican
border, the intersections of I-10 & I-25 allowing easy access, and the mild climate which
provides a harbor to a large number of transient individuals with mental illness.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPACT
HB 716 would require the DOH to issue and manage an RFP to contract with a local entity for
the management of emergency medicine prescribing services. All contracts created through this
funding would adhere to the Procurement Code.
DUPLICATION
HB 716 duplicates SB 472.
GG/csd