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

SPONSOR Altamirano

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/8/07

HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Chicano, Mexicano, & Hispano Studies

SB 649

ANALYST Guambaña

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Conflicts with SB 405

.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 649 appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the

University Of New Mexico (UNM) to create the Chicano, Mexicano, and Hispano Studies

Program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 08 shall revert to the

General Fund.

HED maintains that UNM has stated that the current program budget of $134,238 is funded by

UNM.

Senate Bill 649 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED states that the Chicano, Hispano, Mexicano Studies Program is interdisciplinary and

contains a service/outreach component. The program enables students to improve Spanish

language fluency and increase their knowledge of contemporary Hispanic cultures.

HED and UNM assert that appropriations from Senate Bill 649 will be used as follows:

•

Hire tenure track professors, lectures;

•

Provide financial support for graduate assistants, student advisor, and work study

workers;

•

Upgrade the salary for the Director and the Administrative Assistant;

•

Provide funds for community outreach activities, and

•

Provide funds to start up the program.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Per HED, the program will track student enrollments and the retention and graduation rates of

Hispanic students. Exit interviews of graduates of the program will be implemented. The

program will conduct annual program assessment and undergraduate review, and evaluation will

be conducted through the Office of the Provost. Research and community service components of

the program will be reviewed and analyzed as well.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

HED states that the Chicano, Hispano, & Mexicano Studies Program will coordinate the hiring

of three Full Time Employee (FTE) faculty, one and one-half FTE faculty, two graduate

assistants, one student advisor, and work study students. The funding would additionally

upgrade the salaries of the Director and Administrative Assistant.

CONFLICT

Senate Bill 405 appropriates $254,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico (UNM) to support the Chicano, Hispano, Mexicano Studies Program

at UNM.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Why are funds required to start up a program that is already exists.

Analysis by HED for Senate Bill 649 and Senate Bill 405 were near identical submissions. The

discrepancy between the bills lies in the title of Senate Bill 649 which suggests that the

appropriations will be used to initiate a program that is already in existence. This singular

difference is the only aspect that truly distinguishes the bills from one another, apart from the

titles and the appropriation requests of each bill. The remainder of the bill’s request is devoted to

the same purposes as those stated in Senate Bill 405.

AG/nt