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

SPONSOR Madalena

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/22/08

HB 118

SHORT TITLE Native American Living Centers

SB

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 118 appropriates $250 thousand from the General Fund to the Division of Vocational

Rehabilitation for the purpose of the operation of independent living centers in San Felipe and

Laguna Pueblos, to support disabled Native Americans in these and the surrounding native

communities.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert to the general

fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Division for Vocational Rehabilitation contributes the following:

Centers for Independent Living are consumer-controlled, grassroots organizations that promote a

philosophy of independent living, including a philosophy of consumer control, peer support, self-

help, self-determination, equal access, individual and system advocacy, in order to maximize the

leadership, empowerment, independence and productivity of individuals with disabilities of all

ages, and their integration and full inclusion in our communities.

House Bill 118 – Page

2

Centers for Independent Living are centered around basic values that are consumer control – a

majority of the staff and Board of Directors at Centers must be people with disabilities; peer

support – people with disabilities help and encourage each other; self-determination – people

with disabilities recognize their right to make decisions about their own lives; and cross-

disability oriented- services and support are provided to people with all types of disabilities.

The core services offered at Centers for Independent Living are information and referral –

helping people with disabilities find services and benefits; advocacy- helping people understand

their rights and providing individual advocacy and system advocacy; Independent Living Skills

training – teaching people with disabilities skills and assistive technology that can assist them to

live more independently and move towards gaining financial independence through work; and

peer mentoring – peers serve as role models, providing support and sharing their knowledge and

experience.

New Mexico currently has five Centers for Independent Living and five branch offices serving

New Mexicans with disabilities. Funding for three Centers and three branch offices comes from

state general funds. The rest of the Centers and their branch offices are federally funded through

Title VII, Section 704 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Although Centers for

Independent Living currently service some Native American communities, the services that they

provide are minimal. The Native American Center for Independent Living will provide services

to Native Americans in ten Pueblos in New Mexico. It is estimated that there are over 8,700

Native Americans with disabilities in the ten Pueblos to be served by this center. The figure is

based on population figures compiled by individual Tribes and figures provided by the Office of

Indian Affairs, using the 24.3% disability rate among Native Americans reported by the

American Indian Disability Technical Assistance Center in Montana.

The Department of Indian Affairs adds:

The bill would provide an opportunity for disabled Native Americans in Laguna and San Felipe,

as well as the surrounding Pueblo communities in Sandoval, Cibola, and Bernalillo Counties, to

make contributions to society with support from independent living services. Such services are

provided to develop self-advocacy and life skills that may contribute to the future potential

employability and independence of a disabled person. This bill is unique in that Native

Americans with disabilities would have access to these services within their own communities

and Native culture.

MW/mt