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

SPONSOR Martinez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/03/08

HB 466

SHORT TITLE WNMU Museum

SB

ANALYST Williams

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$345.6

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 466 appropriates $345,600 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of

Western New Mexico University (WNMU) for the purpose of staffing and equipment at the

university museum.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $345,600 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 09 shall revert to the

General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED notes the appropriation would be used to provide salary and benefits, equipment, supplies,

travel and other expenses. Full-time equivalent (FTE) staff members would increase to include a

curator of collections, a weekend manager and a receptionist/secretary.

House Bill 466 – Page

2

The museum opened to the public around 1970 and has been renovating based, in part, on a 2007

legislative appropriation of $50,000 for Phase II of the Revitalizing History Project. The

museum does not charge an entrance fee, but accepts donations.

An expansion proposal for the museum was submitted by WNMU to the HED for consideration

in Fall 2007, but was not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY09. The

project was ranked in priority order as #11 of 13 projects submitted by the university. In its

November 2007 evaluation of research and public service project expansion requests and new

initiatives, HED rated the WNMU museum expansion request as “would not oppose if funding

available."

The January 2008 LFC report “Higher Education Department Review of Selected Research and

Public Service Projects" discusses best practices for funding these types of projects.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

DCA notes “the WNMU museum has a world-class collection of Mimbres and Mata Ortiz

pottery that needs upgraded educational exhibits. This funding would provide for much-needed

technical assistance and equipment."

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1.

To what extent might the university charge a museum entrance fee. How much revenue

would be generated by imposing a fee.

AW/mt