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

SPONSOR Pinto

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/24/07

HB

SHORT TITLE

Native American Emergency Managers

SB 109

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$1,320.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$20.0

$20.0

$40.0 Recurring General

Fund

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IDA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 109 appropriates $1.32 million from the general fund to the Indian Affairs Depart-

ment to fund 22 emergency managers throughout the Indian Pueblos and Tribes. Each entity is

to receive $60 thousand.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1.32 million 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.

Senate Bill 109 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Indian Affairs Department notes.

This bill is intended to close a gap in New Mexico’s emergency management infrastructure. A

2005 capacity assessment by the NM Department of Health, Office of Health Emergency Man-

agement found inadequate tribal emergency management programs. One of its recommendations

was the employment of a full-time emergency manager at each Tribe. Currently, only five New

Mexico Tribes (Acoma, Jemez, Laguna, Navajo Nation, and Santa Clara) employ devoted emer-

gency managers- funded through a mixture of federal, state, and tribal revenues. The remaining

17 Tribes in the state have assigned emergency management responsibilities to staff with other

responsibilities.

Given the continuing demands of the post-9/11 world and a never ending stream of natural disas-

ters, the emergency needs of our state are greater than ever. The geographic remoteness and vast

land areas of many New Mexico Tribes makes them especially susceptible to serious emergen-

cies. Recent flooding in northern and central New Mexico Pueblos, the pandemic flu, and his-

toric snowstorms all reinforce the unique needs of Tribal communities in the realm of emergency

preparedness and response. The current Tribal infrastructure for emergency management is in-

adequate to protect New Mexico citizens and resources in those areas.

This bill has been endorsed by the Interim Indian Affairs Committee. The concept of creating

slots at each of New Mexico’s 22 Tribes for emergency managers is supported by the NM Native

American Emergency Management Association. The Pueblo of Zuni endorses the idea of pro-

viding state support for Tribal emergency managers, but is concerned that the proposed funding

is inadequate. Particularly, the Pueblo supports a recurrent state funding stream for the position

and additional monies to account for the additional administrative burdens that tribes will realize.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

In order to administer this program, the IAD reports the need for ¼ FTE. Given the current un-

derstaffed state of the IAD, it cannot absorb these costs without new resources. These adminis-

trative expenses are not accounted for in SB 109. The operating budget increase above is esti-

mated at $20 thousand annually for this expense.

MW/nt