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

SPONSOR Papen

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/8/07

HB

SHORT TITLE NMSU Food Processing & Testing Center

SB 108

ANALYST Leger

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$600.0 Nonrecurring

General Fund

$500.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

FY09

$1,000.0

$1,000.0 Recurring

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA)

New Mexico Higher Education Department (HED)

New Mexico State University (NMSU)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 108 appropriates $1.1 million from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New

Mexico State University to establish and operate a food products processing and testing center.

Senate Bill 108 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1.1 million contained in this bill ($500.0 recurring - $600.0 nonrecurring)

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

FY08 shall revert to the general fund.

According to NMDA & HED recurring funding would be used to provide salary and related

fringe benefits for scientific staff and support staff and to provide operating funds to support the

function. Nonrecurring funding would include equipping a laboratory with state of the art testing

equipment.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The appropriation in SB 108 would create a cross-campus food products development and

testing laboratory at NMSU. This would be a joint initiative by NMDA and NMSU College of

Agriculture and Home Economics (CAHE). According to the university, this lab would meet

industry demands, generate highly skilled graduates needed by industry and government, identify

new research opportunities, and possibly generate revenues to support program development.

According to NMDA, livestock, crop, and horse racing industries account for over $2.6 billion in

cash receipts. Each industry is required to conduct various laboratory testing and currently much

of the testing is being conducted out of state. With the appropriation from SB 108 an in-state

laboratory would be available for use. This facility would also have the ability to provide

services to the agricultural processing and agri-business community in areas of chile and onion

process, nutrition and dietary analysis for pecan and pistachio products, and multidisciplinary

research with application to commercial kitchens. Furthermore, NMSU states a new center will

improve food safety and security by protecting food production and processing practices, and

quality assurance.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

According to NMSU, benefits of the proposed facility include:

•

Building a strong and more industry responsive university

•

Channeling testing revenues back into the State

•

Bolstering economic development through creation of high paying jobs and attraction

of new income into the state

•

Providing experiences for students in quality control and bio security testing, thus

providing them with a competitive advantage in the job market.

•

Identifying research topics to which NMSU scientists may apply expertise

JL/nt