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

SPONSOR Martinez, R

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/14/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Digital Info Manager Training

SB 836

ANALYST Ortiz

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$125.0

Recurring

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB915

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Commission of Public Records

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 836 appropriates $125 thousand from the general fund to the Commission of Public

Records for the purpose of providing training scholarships to information professionals

employed by state agencies or institutions or by local or tribal governments to receive certified

on-line training on managing digital records.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $125 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2008 shall revert to the

general fund.

The Commission of Public Records adds

that the intent of the appropriate is two-fold: first, to

provide scholarships and second, to employ a consultant to conduct the feasibility study, since

the agency does not the staff to undertake the study in-house.

The present, per student cost of the University of Arizona certification program (May 2007 -

May 2008) is $20.0. The appropriation would enable the Commission to provide five

Senate Bill 836 – Page

2

scholarships for a total of $100.0. The remaining $25.0 would be used to contract with a

qualified consultant to conduct the feasibility study and for any related, incidental costs.

The bill contains an emergency clause that would make the funds available immediately upon

signature by the governor, providing the bill passes with the requisite two-thirds votes.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Commission of Public Records increasing need for governmental entities to

share information with each other in order to conduct business has made the need for information

professionals to acquire training in managing digital information critical. More often than not,

this information is created or captured electronically and stored in IT systems. These systems are

generally structured to address the needs of a specific governmental entity and do not facilitate

the sharing of information with other entities.

This training would provide information professionals the ability to contribute to the planning

and implementation of future government IT projects to ensure the ability of these systems to

fulfill the needs of a specific governmental entity, share information with other governmental

entities and preserve historically significant information for future researchers.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Commission of Public Records will provide administrative support to the scholarships and

planning activities; however, as discussed above, the intent is to hire a consultant to conduct the

feasibility study since the agency does not have the resources to perform the work in-house.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

This bill is closely related to HB915, Digital Information Manager Training and Reporting. The

intent of the two bills is the same, but the wording is slightly different. As noted by the

Commission of Public Records the title of HB915 is the more comprehensive, recognizing the

reporting requirement. Also, SB836 speaks to "state agencies and institutions," while HB915

uses the term "academic institutions" in defining eligible employers.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

It is possible, says the Commission of Public Records, there could be a title sufficiency issue

with SB836. As mentioned above, the companion House bill carries a more comprehensive title

which includes reference to the required report.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The University of Arizona’s certificate program is the only program in the Southwest for the

study of digital information management that provides students with the theoretical knowledge,

conceptual frameworks and practical skills required to create, maintain and preserve digital

records. If this bill is not enacted the ability of New Mexico's information professionals to

acquire this knowledge will be significantly restricted.

EO/mt