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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

2/7/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE Math, Engineering & Science Program

SB 424

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$211.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Related to HB 897

.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 424 appropriates $211,000 from the General Fund to the Regents of New Mexico In-

stitute of Mining and Technology (NM Tech) for expenditure in FY 2008 for the following pur-

poses:

1)

$25,000 to provide a one-week, in-depth- summer science of energy program for students

in the southeast region of the state in conjunction with the Center for Environmental

Monitoring at the Carlsbad Branch of NMSU, the Roswel Branch of ENMU, and the

New Mexico Military Institute;

2)

$40,000 for a science and engineering summer course to prepare sophomores and juniors

to succeed in related college classes;

3)

$20,000 to provide staff professional development in math, engineering, science, and

technically related fields through classes, workshops and professional conferences; and

4)

$126,000 to expand the Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA)

program into seven new public schools.

Senate Bill 424 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $211,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2008 shall revert to the

General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

New Mexico MESA, founded in 1982, is a nonprofit organization that is a part of a national ini-

tiative promoting educational enrichment for students that are underrepresented in higher educa-

tion, based on a model that originated in 1970 at the University of California at Berkeley. The

year-round program prepares students for careers in mathematics, engineering, science, and re-

lated fields and serves students statewide. MESA students receive enrichment experiences and

practical assistance such as tutoring, career counseling, field trips, college visits, parent and lead-

ership workshops, ACT and SAT preparation workshops, summer enrichment classes, and schol-

arship opportunities

According to PED, NM MESA has grown to provide thousands of middle, junior high and high

school students with year-round support and career guidance. In the 2005-2006 school year, NM

MESA served approximately 4,500 students in 96 schools and 31 school districts with 150

MESA Advisers. NM MESA is governed by a board composed of bipartisan legislative represen-

tation (both state and federal); representatives of local and national companies; secondary

schools; state universities; et al. Financial support is provided by the State of New Mexico; nu-

merous state and national corporations and foundations; federal agencies; and private donations.

This proposal for additional funding was not submitted by NM Tech to HED for review and is

not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY08. The Department recom-

mends that this program be funded at the FY07 base recurring level of $180,000, with no addi-

tional funding for FY08.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 897 appropriates $261,000 from the General Fund to the Regents of NM Tech for ex-

penditure in FY 2008 for expansion of the MESA program.

BM/yr