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committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

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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

2/19/07

HB

SHORT TITLE

LAW ENFORCEMENT INFO EXCHANGE

SYSTEM

SB 1136

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$1,250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 1136 appropriates $1,250.0 to the Department of Finance and Administration’s Local

Government Division for expenditure in FY08. The appropriation is to provide local law

enforcement agencies with labor, hardware and software to access the Federal Naval Criminal

Investigative Service (NCIS) through the New Mexico Law Enforcement Information Exchange

System.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1,250.0 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.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

DFA reports that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary law

enforcement and counterintelligence arm of the United States Department of the Navy. It works

closely with other local, state, federal, and foreign agencies to counter and investigate the most

Senate Bill 1136 – Page

2

serious crimes: terrorism, espionage, computer intrusion, homicide, rape, child abuse, arson,

procurement fraud, and more.

NCIS' three strategic priorities are to: prevent terrorism; protect secrets; and reduce crime.

NCIS frequently works with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, but

specializes in crime within or directed against the Department of the Navy. NCIS also deals with

many issues traditionally associated with other agencies, such as overseas counterintelligence,

firearms and explosives, customs violations and immigration, fugitives, environmental crimes

and protective services.

The NCIS currently utilizes a new database called LInX—Law Enforcement Information

Exchange. As a pilot program in October 2004, LInX allowed NCIS and 13 local and state

agencies in the Seattle, Wash., region to share records. Currently the Seattle project has grown to

70 agencies, and NCIS has set up several more sites. More than 200 law enforcement agencies

are connected in five regions: Seattle, Wash., Hampton Roads, Va.; South Texas; Northeast

Florida/Southeast Georgia; and Hawaii. Two more sites—New Mexico and the National Capital

Region—are currently in progress, and Los Angeles officials are showing interest. In New

Mexico, LInX went online with agencies in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Doña Ana counties during

the summer of 2006.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

DFA notes that SB 1136 does not contain criteria for the distribution of the appropriation to local

law enforcement agencies.

Currently the Department of Finance and Administration distributes monies to participating local

law enforcement agencies through the Law Enforcement Protection Fund (LEPF). While LEPF

is a critical piece of the operating budget for the majority of law enforcement agencies across the

state, it would not provide the necessary resources to initiate the requirements of this system.

WEP/nt