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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

1/31/2008

HB

SHORT TITLE

Hazardous Materials Decontamination

Evaluation

SB 458

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$400.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 110 and HB 132.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

RESPONSES FROM AGENCIES

Department of Health (DOH)

New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED)

Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department (HSEMD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis

Senate Bill 458 appropriates $400,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of

Northern New Mexico State School for expenditure in FY09 to provide hazardous materials

science-based decontamination evaluation and training to volunteer and full-time emergency first

responders and receivers.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $400,000 contained in this bill is identified as a recurring expense to the

General Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year

shall not revert to the General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

As reported by NMHED the Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) Environmental Science

program offers 20 courses, at least half of which pertain to hazardous materials:

Senate Bill 458 – Page

2

.

Introduction to Waste Management, which provides an overview of environmental

impacts of hazardous material on air, surface water, ground water, and land;

.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Health and Safety, which provides

an overview of accepted technologies to protect the health and safety of personnel

handling hazardous waste;

.

Field Instrumentation, which covers commonly used monitoring equipment used on

hazardous waste sites;

.

Environmental and Occupational Law and Regulations, which surveys federal and state

regulations relating to waste management, occupational health, air and waste pollution,

and environmental management;

.

Water Resources and Biological Monitoring, which covers the physical and chemical

properties of water, its mechanisms of flow, and important biological indicators of

contamination;

.

Water Resources and Biological Monitoring Lab, which analyzes the physical and

chemical properties of water, mechanisms of flow, and biological indicators of

contamination;

.

Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization, which covers pollution prevention and

hazardous waste minimization;

.

Environmental Lab Instrumentation, which includes techniques to evaluate contaminants

in water, wastewater, sludge, ground water, soil, and air.

.

Introduction to Treatment, Storage, and Disposal of Hazardous Materials, including

physical, chemical, biological and thermal materials; and

.

Special Environmental Topics, including hazardous waste, environmental issues, and

public communications.

Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department has oversight for all hazardous

materials response protocols and training per the Homeland Security and Emergency

Management Act. The agency agrees decontamination training for first responders in the event of

a hazardous material, radioactive and/or terrorist event is greatly needed in the state. Fully

trained decontamination teams more widely available statewide would enhance capabilities and

provide better response for citizens.

This request was not submitted by NNMC to the New Mexico Higher Education Department for

review and is not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY09.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP OR RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 110 appropriates $400,000 to the Department of Public Safety for Emergency

Responder Decontamination Training.

Senate Bill 458 relates to HB 132 which appropriates $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the

Board of Regents of NNMC for expenditure in FY09 to start new bachelor degree programs,

including Environmental Science.

AMENDMENTS

Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department contends the proposed legislation

should be amended to appropriate funding to its department.

BM/bb