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

SPONSOR Altimarano

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/07

HB

SHORT TITLE

NM Tech Energetic Materials Research Center

SB 516

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$570.0

Recurring

General Fund

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 516 requests an appropriation of $570,000 from the General Fund to the Board of

Regents of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM Tech) for expenditure in FY07

and FY08 for expansions and upgrades at the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center.

This bill includes Section 2. EMERGENCY CLAUSE.--It is necessary for the public peace,

health and safety that this act takes effect immediately.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $570,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the

general fund. This bill requests an increase in recurring funds in the amount of $570,000.

According to the director of planning, the funds are needed to begin a program to avoid losing

federal funding. The bill declares an emergency for public safety in order to allow spending of

the funds in current FY07. Most of these funds are for physical facilities and to expand the

EMRTC program.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC), affiliated with New Mexico

Tech, are internationally recognized and has over fifty years of expertise in explosives research

and testing.

Senate Bill 516 – Page

2

EMRTC specializes in the research, development, and analysis of energetic materials for both

corporate and government clients.

According to the New Mexico Tech website (http://www.emrtc.nmt.edu/), as one of several

research divisions of New Mexico Tech, EMRTC has access to University faculty with

experience in a wide variety of scientific and technical disciplines. EMRTC's 40-square-mile

field laboratory contains over 30 test sites, gun ranges, storage sites, and other research facilities,

allowing for a complete spectrum of research and testing activities.

EMRTC specializes in the following areas of research and development:

•

Computer simulations

•

DOT and UN hazards classification

•

Environmental assessments

•

Insensitive munitions testing

•

Light gas gun experiments

•

Mine detection evaluation

•

Non-ideal explosives research

•

Ordinance testing

•

Reusable blast test fixture programs (joint venture with the FAA)

•

Rocket engine testing

•

Sled track experiments

•

Vulnerability/Survivability analysis

•

Warhead characterization

•

Warhead development

EMRTC offers research opportunities in a variety of engineering and scientific disciplines.

EMRTC also employs undergraduate and graduate students through New Mexico Tech. Students

work as regular employees, as interns for those programs which require it, and as research

assistants.

This proposal for additional funding was submitted to the HED by NM Tech for review, but

was not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY08. The bill's

appropriation is $570,000, whereas NM Tech's proposed amount was slightly less at $568,500.

HED recommends that this program be funded at the FY07 recurring level of $766,800, with no

additional funding for FY08.

GM/nt