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

SPONSOR Chavez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/08

HB 490

SHORT TITLE NM Government Education Fund

SB

ANALYST Cox

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$50.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Higher Education (HED)

Department of Public Education (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 478 requests an appropriation of Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) from the General

Fund to the New Mexico Government Education Fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2008 and

subsequent fiscal years to contract for annual weeklong high school civics courses focusing on

New Mexico state government for boys and girls to be held at varying post-secondary

educational institutions in New Mexico.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) 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.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The New Mexico Higher Education Department’s (NMHED) analysis of this Bill focuses on the

higher education implications of the proposed legislation. Additional insight may be obtained

House Bill 490 – Page

2

from other departments.

The New Mexico Government Education Fund consists of appropriations by the legislature,

gifts, grants, and donations. If enacted, this legislation would go toward funding an annual high

school civics program focusing on New Mexico state government for boys and girls. This

weeklong program takes place at a postsecondary institution in New Mexico that changes from

year to year. The program provides hands-on experience in a democratic government and

demonstrates how political parties are organized and how they work to support New Mexico

government. The program would promote a non-partisan perspective through an objective

educational approach.

PED notes:

In the 2005 Legislative session, the NM Legislature created the “New Mexico Government

Education Fund" in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of legislative appropriations, gifts,

grants and donations. The fund is administered by the PED and work is to be contracted out to

provide annual, weeklong, high school civics courses focusing on New Mexico state government

for boys and girls. This program is to be held at varying postsecondary educational institutions.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year

shall not revert but shall remain to the credit of the New Mexico Government Education Fund.

The Legislature has not made an appropriation to this fund since 2005. The current

appropriation will support the PED in contracting for the services identified above.

Typically, such a program would provide hands-on experience in the operation of a democratic

form of government and how political parties are organized and interact in shaping New Mexico

government. The program would promote a non-partisan perspective through an objective

educational approach. Participants would be exposed to the rights, privileges, duties and

responsibilities of a franchised citizen. The training would be practical with city, county and

state governments operated by the students elected to various offices.

The program supports a core strand of the New Mexico Content Standards, Benchmarks, and

Performance Standards in civics and government.

PRC/nt