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

SPONSOR Nava

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/3/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE NMSU Underrepresented Student Alliance

SB 422

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 58 and SB 30.

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

Higher Education Department (HED)

New Mexico State University (NMSU)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 422 creates the Alliance for Underrepresented Students (AUS) at NMSU. SB 422

outlines the purposes of the AUS and mandates annual reports to the NMSU Regents and the

Legislature detailing its activities and accomplishments.

The bill indicates that these reports be printed and distributed by the University, and “. . . reve-

nue from the sale of the reports shall be paid into the account of New Mexico state university."

The bill further provides that AUS may receive appropriations from the Legislature through the

NMSU Regents and may receive gifts, grants, and donations from public or private sources.

Senate Bill 422 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There is no direct fiscal impact from SB 422 since the appropriations to the Alliance are in-

cluded in other legislation.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Although the NMSU Regents have made reference to the “Alliance for Underrepresented Stu-

dents" in various documents in the past, it appears that this Alliance exits only informally. SB

422, by an act of the Legislature, creates the Alliance for Underrepresented Students at NMSU

and specifies other participating organizations and the purposes of the Alliance.

Regardless of the standing of AUS, it has been a public service project at NMSU supported by

annual funding under HB2 (General Appropriations Act) for the past 10 years. The university

submits funding requests annually for this and other initiatives that are considered to be Research

and Public Service Projects (RPSP).

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 58 (NMSU Alliance for Underserved Students) and SB 30 (NMSU Underrepresented

Student Alliance) each appropriate $250,000 to the NMSU Regents in FY 2008 to “pay for re-

cruitment and retention efforts of the Alliance for Underrepresented Students."

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The AUS project, as outlined in SB 422) has two programs:

1. The New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation (NM AMP)

2. The Regional Alliance for Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Tech-

nology for Students with Disabilities (RASEM

2

).

New Mexico AMP’s programs and activities are designed to guide qualified students into leader-

ship positions in industry, academia, and entrepreneurial pursuits upon completion of their bac-

calaureate degree and to help them prepare for graduate school.

New Mexico AMP is aligned with other National Science Foundation (NSF) programs in New

Mexico who share this common vision including RASEM

2

, also housed at NMSU. Other aca-

demic and statewide agencies, in collaboration and cooperation with New Mexico AMP, also

provide internships, scholarships, mentoring and role models to help students complete their B.S.

degree and go on to graduate school, industry, or entrepreneurship.

Both programs participate in local, statewide, and regional efforts to improve Science, Technol-

ogy, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) preparation of future K-12 teachers and their effec-

tiveness as educators. In addition to recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in

STEM, the AUS project offers outreach, mentorship, tutoring, bridge programs, summer pro-

grams, undergraduate research, and student internships

.

Senate Bill 422 – Page

3

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1.

Will SB 422, by including participating organizations by name, restrict rather than

expand participation.

2.

Is the Legislature the appropriate vehicle for creating student-level organizations at

higher education institutions.

BM/yr