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

SPONSOR Vigil

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/24/08

HB 201

SHORT TITLE NM Highlands Ben Lujan Institute

SB

ANALYST Haug

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$500.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 201 appropriates $500.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of New

Mexico Highlands University to fund the Ben Lujan Institute for Public Policy.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $500.0 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 submitted by NMHU to the New Mexico Higher Education Department, but

was not included in the Department's recommendations for FY09.

The HED’s evaluation table of FY09 Research and Public Service Projects provided to the LFC

classifies this project as a “does not fit within HED priorities for Higher Education" project.

Reasons for this classification decision are not provided. (LFC Report 07-20, Higher Education

Department Review of Selected Research and Public Service Projects, January 12, 2008, Table

4, p73.)

House Bill 201 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

NMHU states that House Bill 201 provides funding to:

•

create a year-long Principals academy for 25 promising teacher leaders;

•

research, publish and disseminate three major policy publications;

•

create an Institute for 50 youth leaders dealing with NM policy issues; and

•

develop a curriculum for use by NM schools dealing with youth entrepreneurship.

According to NMHU, House Bill 201 would increase the general fund operating budget by $89.3

for this program. Laws of 2007 provided $312,700 for this program. The appropriation is

consistent with the University Strategic plan and assists with the university mission of

integrating education, research, public service, and economic development.

The HED reports:

The Ben Lujan Leadership and Public Policy Institute (BLLPPI) was created to assist in

shaping public policy throughout New Mexico at many levels. Among those areas

targeted are: health care, nutrition, parent and community engagement, substance abuse,

and PreK-20 education.

The institute bridges the gap between academic scholarship and policy development

through its service to public and private sector clients and through its independent

research agenda focused on New Mexico’s needs. The BLLPPI has also expanded its

mission to focus on helping develop a new generation of emerging leaders. All of this is

accomplished by creating a series of collaborative opportunities for participation by

students and other activities such as seminars, focus groups, research projects, service

learning projects, leadership camps, program evaluation, and public outreach.

The goals of the BLLPPI are more comprehensively met through numerous

collaborations with other leaders, organizations, policy institutes, community based

organizations, and other institutions of higher education. The ultimate goal of the institute

is to improve education in New Mexico while preparing leaders to meet the challenges

within our state and nation.

GH/mt