Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

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

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

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

SPONSOR Salazar

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/08

HB 133

SHORT TITLE Rural Area Healthcare Career Training

SB

ANALYST Haug

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates

Senate Bill 7

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 133 appropriates $250.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New

Mexico Highlands University to establish a demonstration and research program that will better

prepare undergraduate students from small universities for successful entry into medical school

or other related health fields. This includes a focused undergraduate curriculum, summer science

academies, remote learning, medical school entrance examination preparation and mentoring by

rural physicians and physicians associated with the New Mexico Hispanic medical association.

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 fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the

general fund.

House Bill 133 – Page

2

The HED states that this request was not submitted by NMHU to the New Mexico Higher

Education Department for review and is not included in the Department’s funding

recommendation for FY09.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to NMHU, the University anticipates that the funding requested will help develop and

grow the small existing pre-med program at the University and help meet the need for more

medical professionals in rural areas of New Mexico. There is evidence that health care providers

from small rural communities are more likely to return to similar communities to practice their

profession. The difficulty in recruiting students from these communities to health career tracks is

due, in part, to the limited availability of pre-professional courses in small school districts, and

the lack of formal training opportunities for entrance exams. This approach may help increase

the number of underrepresented minorities in the health care field working with racial and ethnic

minorities living in rural areas of the state.

The HED states that according to enrollment data submitted to the New Mexico Higher

Education Department, in the Spring 2007 semester a total of 301 medical students were enrolled

at UNM Medical School. Only 10 of those students, approximately 3%, graduated from a

smaller university in New Mexico. Two students graduated from New Mexico Highlands

University, five graduated from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and three

graduated from Western New Mexico University.

DUPLICATION

Duplicates SB 7 except for bill title.

GH/jp