Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC 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 Vigil

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/2/06

2/6/06 HB 350/aHEC

SHORT TITLE School Bus Security & GPS Devices

SB

ANALYST Hoffmann

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$2,400,000

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY06

FY07

FY08 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$244.5 $489.0

$733.5 Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HEC Amendment

The House Education Committee amendment eliminates the component of the appropriation that

would have provided cellular services and cell phones for school bus drivers.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 350 appropriates $2,400,000 from the general fund to the Public Education Depart-

ment for the purpose of equipping up to 3,000 school buses with security and global positioning

devices statewide, including cellular services and cell phones for bus drivers.

House Bill 350/aHEC – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $2,400,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

This proposal was not included as a part of the Executive budget or of the LFC’s budget recom-

mendations.

The House Education Committee amendment eliminates the cellular service and cell phones.

This eliminates an estimated annual cost of $1,440,000 that would have reduced the number of

school buses that could be equipped with GPS tracking equipment.

The Public Education Department notes that New Mexico school buses transport 183,744 stu-

dents daily covering 34,836,914 annual miles on 2,369 school buses. There are approximately

700 activity school buses which are used outside of normal school hours to transport students on

activities and athletic events. This is a total of approximately 3,069 buses.

The start-up costs (capital ($850), extended warranty ($85), and installation ($125)) for the GPS

and security, along with the operating costs for six months (assuming the project could be com-

pleted in six months) are approximately $1,060 per bus. At the funding level of $2,400,000 the

Public Education Department could equip approximately 2,264 buses ($2,400,000 / $1,060 ~

2,264).

The amendment does not address the increase in the Department of Education’s operating budget

that would be necessary to pay for the GPS tracking service cost of $18/month or approximately

$489,000 per year. The “ADDITIONAL ESTIMATED OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT” ta-

ble above assumes that the GPS tracking units in the buses will be in operation only half of fiscal

year 2007.

CH/mt