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

SPONSOR M.P. Garcia

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/07

HB 631

SHORT TITLE ALBUQUERQUE DONATED BICYCLE REPAIRS SB

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$15.0

Nonrecurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 631 appropriates $15.0 from the General Fund to the Local Government Division of

the Department of Finance and Administration to contract with a community organization that

serves the west Central metropolitan redevelopment area in Albuquerque, to implement a

community bicycle program to restore and repair donated bicycles to needy children and families

to promote healthy and active lifestyles.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $15.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the General

Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to DFA the community organization referenced in HB 631 is the West Central

Community Development Group comprised of ten neighborhood associations and 2 business

leaders from the west side of Albuquerque. The organization's mission is to revitalize the West

House Bill 631 – Page

2

Central, Old Coors, and Unser areas.

One of the founding neighborhood associations is the Vecinos del Bosque Neighborhood

Association, which began a Albuquerque Bicycle Recycling Program. The $15.0 appropriated

from HB 631 will be targeted solely to the Bicycle Recycling Program (BRP) to purchase

helmets, parts, distributing the restored bikes and picking up donated bikes from around the state.

Currently, BRP has approximately 200 bikes waiting for funding and parts donations and

volunteers to restore the bikes. The funding in this bill will enable BRP to move these bikes out

of the warehouse and into the children’s homes.

BRP has been serving the Albuquerque area for approximately two years. It started as a bike

safety program for children who lived within the Vecinos del Bosque Neighborhood Association,

teaching the children to remain safe while riding their bikes along Central and Atrisco Avenues.

It is estimated that the BRP has distributed over 600 bicycles to needy children and adults. The

average restoration cost for a bicycle is between $25 and $30. The recipients of the restored

bicycles pay nothing for the bicycle. All work is done by volunteers, with used bikes, parts and

supplies provided by donation.

The bulk of BRP's assistance is targeted to children in the 1st through 5th grades. School

counselors at the elementary schools select those students most in need of assistance and then

send a letter home to the parents offering the family a free bike. If the student has siblings, those

siblings are also offered free bikes. The family must come to the school where, by lottery, the

children will be able to select a bike for themselves. Before they choose a bike, the children and

their parents must watch a 10 minute bike safety video. A helmet is also given to the child when

he chooses a bike.

BRP also works with the Veterans Hospital and St. Martins Hospitality Center to provide bikes

to needy adults. St. Martins’ counselors select those homeless adults who are making an effort to

improve their lives and BRP provides those individuals with free bicycles to assist with their

transportation needs. The Veterans Hospital uses the restored bikes in two ways (1) to be used at

the hospital for recreational rehab purposes and (2) to give to participants of their rehab program

after the participants have finished.

BRP maintains a web site at www.communitybikerecycling.org.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DFA indicates that it has the staff and experience to administer this program.

WEP/mt