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

SPONSOR Ortiz y Pino

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/15/07

HB

SHORT TITLE School Bus Rides for Certain TANF Families

SB 682

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 682 (SB 682) adds a new section of the Public School Code to allow qualifying

parents who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to ride school buses

(when space is available) with

their school enrolled child who rides the bus to school if they:

1.

need transportation to work or to another point for work purposes when they have no

other means of transportation; and

2.

sign a waiver of liability against the school district and school bus contractor; and

3.

meet other qualifications as determined by rules of the department

The bus driver cannot change the school bus route to accommodate the TANF parent but shall

stop along the route to allow the parent to disembark at the point along the school bus route when

it is safe.

SB 682 clarifies that this transportation is not general public transportation as provided for in the

Emergency Transportation Act

.

Senate Bill 682 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Neither HSD or PED report an anticipated fiscal impact. However, it is not defined what entity

is to initiate and maintain the required administrative tasks.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HSD offers the following general information about the TANF program.

The TANF program is administered by HSD. The New Mexico Works (NMW) Act establishes

the NMW TANF program in NM. HSD determines eligibility for TANF cash assistance and

HSD contracts for work program & support services. Transportation is often a significant barrier

to employment for many TANF participants. Currently HSD contracts for TANF transportation

services with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the NMW contractors.

DOT uses limited TANF funds as a match for the Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC)

Program. This allows JARC to provide rides to TANF participants. In addition, JARC funds can

also be used for low-income individuals with income under 150% of poverty, but HSD does not

provide funding for these individuals. The agreement between DOT and HSD includes a

demand-response bus/van services and a fixed route bus/van service for TANF participants.

Because of limited match funding, DOT has significantly reduced the service area in NM.

JARC Coverage:

The NMW program through the NMW contractor provides the following transportation

assistance:

1.

Operation of personal vehicles

a.

Driver Education

b.

License Fee

c.

Registration

d.

Inspection tags

e.

Insurance

Senate Bill 682 – Page

3

f.

Mileage allowance

g.

Gas Vouchers

h.

Maintenance/Repairs

i.

Parking Fees

j.

Bike & helmet purchase

k.

Facilitation of the donation and/or repair of previously owned or reconditioned

vehicles

2.

Public/Private transit fees that are not covered under the HSD/DOT Agreement

a.

Tokens, passes, vouchers, tickets, or slots

b.

Car/Van pool fees

c.

Taxies

d.

Agency van purchase and/or lease

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

How will the children be protected from unknown adults riding a school bus with children.

There is a section requiring the TANF parent to sign a waiver apparently to protect the school

district and bus contractor from liability. However, consideration should be given to protecting

the children through a mandated background check. Who will pay for this background check

and administer the program.

MW/mt