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

SPONSOR Stapleton

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/17/07

HB 917

SHORT TITLE African American Education and Health Care

SB

ANALYST Lucero

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$75.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to: HJM31

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)

Department of Health (DOH)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 917 appropriates seventy-five thousand ($75,000) from the general fund to Office of

African American Affairs for expenditure in fiscal year 2008 for a pilot project to address

education and health care disparities for African American children.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of seventy-five thousand ($75,000) contained in this bill is a recurring expense

to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal

year 2008 shall revert to the general fund.

House Bill 917 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The New Mexico Department of Health Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Report Card notes

that African Americans have higher rates than Whites or Hispanics for the following indicators:

Infant Mortality; Adult Obesity, and Smoking. HB 917 seeks to address the disparities in health

and educational outcomes for African Americans in the state of New Mexico.

Health and educational disparities are a critical issue for African American children. In New

Mexico, as well as in the country as a whole, African American children are over-represented in

the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, compared to their Caucasian peers. They are also

more likely to reside in poverty and to lack health care coverage. As a result, they tend to receive

insufficient or inadequate medical and dental care. Children who live in impoverished areas are

likely to attend under-funded school systems, and African American children have a higher drop

out rate than then children from other ethnic groups. In the juvenile justice system, African

American youth are less likely to be placed in diversion programs and have higher rates of being

tried as adults.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The bill could support the work of the CYFD Disproportionate Minority Contact panel, which

endeavors to identify, understand, and respond to the factors which drive minority

overrepresentation in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Office of African American Affairs is administratively attached to the Human Services

Department (HSD); therefore, HB 917 might require the investment of HSD staff time or other

administrative resources, however, these resource demands could be absorbed.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to: HJM31

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The purpose of the pilot project is not clear. The purpose of OAAA to provide information and

advocacy services to improve the quality of life of all New Mexicans. It is unclear if the purpose

of the pilot project is to provide information and advocacy or if to help provide direct services.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

In 2001 the United States African American child poverty rate of 26.6% was 1.7 times higher

than the national average of 15.8%. In 2001 the infant death rate for African American infants,

14.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, was 2.5 times that of European American infants, 5.7 deaths.

Multiple factors contribute to racial/ethnic health disparities, including socioeconomic factors

(e.g., education, employment, and income), lifestyle behaviors (e.g., physical activity and alcohol

intake), social environment (e.g., educational and economic opportunities, racial/ethnic

discrimination, and neighborhood and work conditions), and access to preventive health-care

House Bill 917 – Page

3

services (e.g., cancer screening and vaccination). For blacks in the United States, health

disparities can mean earlier deaths, decreased quality of life, loss of economic opportunities, and

perceptions of injustice. For society, these disparities translate into less than optimal

productivity, higher health-care costs, and social inequity. By 2050, an estimated 61 million

black persons will reside in the United States, amounting to approximately 15% of the total U.S.

population

ALTERNATIVES

The sponsor of the bill might consider requiring that a report be presented annually to the Health

and Human Services Legislative Committee on the findings and progress being made addressing

the disparities.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Status quo

DL/csd