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.



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 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: Campos DATE TYPED: 02/15/00 HB
SHORT TITLE: Extend Date of Special Election SB 148/aSEC/aHVEC
ANALYST: Pacheco-Perez


APPROPRIATION



Appropriation Contained
Estimated Additional Impact
Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY00 FY01 FY00 FY01
NA



(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)



Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to



SOURCES OF INFORMATION



Commission on Higher Education (CHE)



SUMMARY



Synopsis of HVEC Amendment



This amendment is identical to the amendment attached to the bill in SEC.



Synopsis of SEC Amendment



This amendment changes the date by which to postpone any necessary special election of technical-vocational institute board members to coincide with the school district elections of 2001.



Synopsis of Bill



This bill modifies the Technical-Vocational Institute Act to postpone any necessary special election until no later than July 1, 2001. Under current law, a special election must be held for any board with members not having been elected from single-member districts. Institutions governed by the Act are Albuquerque TVI, Mesa Technical College and Luna Vocational Technical Institute.





Significant Issues



According to the CHE, Luna Vocational Technical Institute's taxing district is comprised of several separate public school districts. Until 1998, the local school boards that participated in the Luna district each appointed an individual to serve on the Luna board. However, after a review by both the State Auditor's office and the Attorney General, it was determined that Luna must have a locally elected board. As a result, Luna held an election for five at-large board members from anywhere in the Luna district. Some of the participating public school districts became concerned that with all at-large positions, they would lose representation since the majority of the population is in Las Vegas, not in some of the smaller school districts. As a result, the Legislature amended the Act during the 1999 session to require single-member districts rather than at-large positions. Luna has already completed the districting process and will be required to hold another election to elect board members from these districts.



FISCAL IMPLICATIONS



The impact of this bill is indeterminate , however should the bill pass, Luna will avoid the expense of two elections in two years.



OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES



According to the CHE, a benefit of implementation is reducing the cost to Luna of holding two elections over the next two year. If this bill is not enacted, the turnover in board membership could seriously jeopardize the stability of the institution.



APP/njw