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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Nava
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
01/24/08
01/29/08 HB
SHORT TITLE NMSU Creative Media Institute
SB 89/aSEC
ANALYST Hanika-Ortiz
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
$250.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED)
New Mexico State University (NMSU)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of SEC Amendment
The Senate Education Committee Amendment corrected a drafting error and reduced the amount
of the appropriation to $250 thousand which was the original intent of the bill.
Synopsis of Original Bill
Senate Bill 89 appropriates $2.25 million from the General Fund to NMSU for expenditure in
FY09 for the Creative Media Institute (CMI).
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $2.25 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General
Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert to
the General Fund.
NMHED reports that this program was allocated a little under $293 thousand from the General
Fund in FY07 and the amount was reduced in FY08 to $42,126. During the last two fiscal years
this program was also supported by other state, county, city and federal funds. The appropriation
will help pay for four fulltime faculty member salaries and benefits.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 89/aSEC – Page
2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
New Mexico State University’s Creative Media Institute (CMI) prepares students to become
digital storytellers using state of the art, industry-standard tools. Eventually CMI will house a
state of the art digital projection system screening room, post-production lab, animation lab, and
production space and will be used to premiere projects produced by CMI students and faculty.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
This bill does not indicate any performance measures.
TEHNICAL ISSUES
Analyses report the appropriation will pay for 4 faculty staff members and benefits, but were
unclear as to how the remaining funding will be used.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
NMSU will continue to operate with existing funding and may see a decrease in student
population.
AHO/mt