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5F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Begaye

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/08

HB 170

SHORT TITLE UNM Native American Studies Program

SB

ANALYST Haug

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$285.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 170 appropriates $285.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of

the University of New Mexico to support the Native American Studies Program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $285.0 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.

This request was not submitted by UNM to the New Mexico Higher Education Department for

review and is not included in the Department's funding recommendation for FY09.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The HED states that the funding for HB170 would support additional faculty used to support a

Master of Indigenous Leadership Study Program. Representatives from UNM state that 50% of

House Bill 170 – Page

2

the current bachelor's degree recipients from the Indian Study Programs would apply to a

master's degree program if there was one. As stated from a representative of UNM, this bill is not

a high priority for the Regents of the University of New Mexico.

IAD reports that HB 170 would provide funding for the Native American Studies (NAS)

Program at the University of New Mexico - an interdisciplinary academic program. NAS “is

committed to Native academic scholarship and research excellence."

1

The goal of NAS “is to

educate and inform students about the Native experience that comes from the rich cultural

heritage of the sovereign Indigenous peoples of the United States. Another goal is to create a

department that collaborates with Native communities and engages students in nation building."

2

“UNM-NAS provides a range of academic resources for the student, the university community,

and Native American communities at-large."

GH/jp

1

See “Honoring Native Tradition Through Academic Excellence," UNM, Department of Native American Studies,

http://www.unm.edu/~nasinfo/academic/aboutus.htm

(last visited on January 21, 2008).

2

Ibid.