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| SPONSOR: | Watchman | DATE TYPED: | 02/11/99 | HB | 23 | ||
| SHORT TITLE: | Lottery Scholarships for Native Americans | SB | |||||
| ANALYST: | Pacheco-Perez | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY99 | FY2000 | FY99 | FY2000 | ||
| Unknown | Recurring | Lottery Tuition | |||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Commission on Higher Education (CHE)
Office of Indian Affairs (OIA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
This bill modifies the lottery tuition scholarship to include eligibility for post-secondary institutions created by Indian nations, tribes, pueblos or the federal government and accredited by the north central accrediting association.
Significant Issues
New Mexico institutions which would gain eligibility are: Dine College, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Navajo Community College, Crownpoint Institute and the Institute of American Indian Arts.
According to the OIA, many Native American students attending New Mexico public high schools are ineligible for the lottery tuition scholarship because they attend federal and tribal post-secondary institutions which are within proximity of the reservations in which students reside.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The fiscal impact of this bill is unknown at this time. Little is known about student demographics enrolled at the Native American institutions. Added to this uncertainty is the expectation that current eligibility will outpace 40 percent of net lottery revenues. This will require that the CHE reduce awards from 100 percent of tuition to between 80 percent to 90 percent.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
Please see attachment for CHE proposed amendments to the current law governing the lottery tuition scholarship fund and program.
APP/njw