Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

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

SPONSOR Pinto

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/28/08

HB

SHORT TITLE TANF Tribal Programs

SB 125

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$1,500.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

Indian Affairs Department

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 125 appropriates $1.5 million from the general fund to the Human Services

Department temporary assistance for needy families services on tribal lands.

•

$1 million is to be directed to the Navajo Nation

•

$500 thousand is to be directed to the Pueblo of Zuni

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1.5 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.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Indian Affairs Department notes.

Both the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo of Zuni operate Tribal TANF programs on their

respective Tribal lands. Both are approved and directly funded by the federal government.

Senate Bill 125 – Page

2

The Navajo Nation has been operating their Tribal TANF program since 1997. (Statement of

Alex Yazza, Jr. Department Director, Navajo Nation TANF, before Subcommittee on Human

Resources of the House Committee on Ways and Means, April 11, 2002). The service

population of the Navajo Nation includes all eligible Indian family members on the Navajo

Reservation and Navajos with census numbers in the near reservation communities.

(Characteristics of Tribal TANF program as of October 1, 2002,

http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/dts/ttanchar_1002.htm).

The Pueblo of Zuni has been operating their Tribal TANF program since 2002. (Testimony of

Michelle Walela, Director of the Zuni Education and Career Development Center, Pueblo of

Zuni, 11/7/05, Minutes of the Indian Affairs Committee, State Legislature) The service

population of Zuni Pueblo is all qualified families at the Pueblo of Zuni and Black Rock whether

they are Indian or non-Indian. (Characteristics of Tribal TANF program as of October 1, 2002,

http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/dts/ttanchar_1002.htm).

The bill supplements federal funding by authorizing the Human Services Department (“HSD") to

provide the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo of Zuni with general fund monies to spend on their

tribal TANF programs.

The bill addresses the following areas that are important to Tribal communities:

•

Reduce dependency on public benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage.

(On the job training, unsubsidized and subsidized employment, community service, job

skills training, job search/ job readiness, child care services, education directly related to

employment for a participant who has not received a high school diploma or certificate of

high school equivalency, vocational training, and work experience). (Characteristics of

Tribal TANF program for Navajo Nation and Zuni as of October 1, 2002,

http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/dts/ttanchar_1002.htm);

•

Allow Tribal TANF programs to continue efforts to design their own programs, define

program eligibility, establish what benefits and services will be available and develop

strategies for achieving program goals and how tribal TANF customers move into the

work force. (Statement of Alex Yazza, Jr. Department Director, Navajo Nation TANF,

before Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Committee on Ways and

Means, April 11, 2002).

HSD adds the following.

If Fiscal Year 2009 General Fund monies are provided to the Navajo Nation and Zuni Pueblo, a

service plan detailing the expected use of the funds will be required and may or may not differ

from the current objectives.

The current funds for the Navajo Nation TANF Program are utilized to motivate, encourage and

provide support to adults and children from the Navajo Nation Program for Self-Reliance

(NNPSR) who reside in New Mexico; promote parenting skills, healthy relationships, and

fatherhood support; purchase computer equipment and office equipment for itinerant sites, and to

pay for costs associated with installation and maintenance of communication lines at itinerant

sites; and, improve case management services. The target population will be adults from

NNPSR families who have enrolled in a certified GED program and children from NNPSR

families who are in school; teenage parents, two-parent families, grandparents or caretakers.

Senate Bill 125 – Page

3

The current goals of the Zuni TANF program are to prevent the rise of teenage pregnancies

through community outreach and education, panel discussions and awareness activities; provide

11

th

and 12

th

grade students (TANF recipients) with after school work experience to promote

work ethics and provide job skills and awareness of career opportunities; provide rewards and

incentives to children for classroom attendance and academic achievement; provide a clothing

allowance to all TANF children; provide a one time cash benefit to graduating high school

seniors to continue their education in accredited post-secondary institutions; and, to promote and

encourage the formation/maintenance of two-parent families through healthy relationship

conferences.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Will the appropriated funds be used for residents of states other than New Mexico.

MW/mt