NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature. The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.
The LFC is only preparing FIRs on bills referred to the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Ways and Means Committee, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee and the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. The chief clerks are responsible for preparing and issuing all other bill analyses.
Only the most recent FIR version, excluding attachments, is available on the Intranet. Previously issued FIRs and attachments may be obtained from the LFC office in Room 416 of the State Capitol Building.
| SPONSOR: | Aragon | DATE TYPED: | 2/19/99 | HB | |||
| SHORT TITLE: | NMSU High Value Specialty Crop Program | SB | 535 | ||||
| ANALYST: | Pacheco-Perez | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY99 | FY2000 | FY99 | FY2000 | ||
| $ 25.0 | Recurring | GF | |||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Commission on Higher Education (CHE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
This bill appropriates $25.0 to the Board of Regents of the New Mexico State University for the purpose of increasing the support for the high value specialty crop program.
Significant Issues
According to the CHE, the project proposed in this bill was not included in the list of eleven special project requests made by the institution.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $25.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY00 shall revert to the general fund.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
According to the CHE, the state higher education funding formula allows institutions to retain 100% of earned overhead on federal grants and contracts for the purpose of providing seed money and matching funds for projects such as that proposed in this bill. Of this indirect cost revenue, a portion is used to support salaries of administrative persons monitoring the contracts, utilities and other overhead expenses required to maintain the activities of the contract. However, a great deal of the indirect cost revenues is available to develop new research and public service projects as well as to expand academic departments. The revenue is unrestricted in the sense that the governing board of the institution has the flexibility to chose which projects are supported with these funds. The CHE also suggests the following language: The institution receiving the appropriation in this bill shall submit a program evaluation to the LFC and CHE by August 1, 2002, detailing the benefits to the State of New Mexico.
APP/gm