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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR A. Lujan
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/21/2007
HB 79
SHORT TITLE NMSU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING PROGRAM SB
ANALYST McOlash
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$1,000.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates Senate Bill 8.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
New Mexico Higher Education Department (HED)
New Mexico State University (NMSU)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 79 appropriates $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of New
Mexico State University (NMSU) for expenditure in FY 2007 through FY 2010 to hire faculty
and implement undergraduate- and graduate-level degree programs in Aerospace Engineering
(AE).
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
This bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of
NMSU to hire faculty and to develop Aerospace Engineering programs at the BS, MS, and PhD
level.
pg_0002
House Bill 79 – Page
2
The NMSU analysis indicates:
The requested recurring funds of $1,000,000 per year [emphasis added] will be used
during the 5-6 year period of program development. After 5-6 years the program will
have attained its capacity, and student credit hour production will generate program
sustaining revenue (approx. $700,000 per year) from the I&G Higher Education Funding
Formula
.
The appropriation of $1,000,000, for expenditure in a three-year period, contained in this bill is a
recurring expense to the General Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at
the end of FY 2010 shall revert to the General Fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
This proposal was submitted to the New NMHED by New Mexico State University but was not
included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY08.
Significant aspects of NMSU-AE program will be implemented at no additional expense:
existing ME courses for AE students in the freshman and sophomore years will be used, along
with ME laboratories and infrastructure, for both teaching and research.
In Fall 2006 NMSU and NMT collaborated, via distance education, in teaching the first
undergraduate aerospace engineering course. Planned: each year courses originating at NMSU
and at NMT will be available to students at both universities.
NMSU Analysis
Aerospace engineering is a 2008 NMSU legislative funding priority. The requested
recurring funds of $1,000,000 per year will be used during the 5-6 year period of program
development. After 5-6 years the program will have attained its capacity, and student
credit hour production will generate program sustaining revenue (approx. $700,000 per
year) from the I&G Higher Education Funding Formula.
Obtaining accreditation of the undergraduate program is essential. This requires at least
four faculty. Offering graduate degree programs is also essential; without graduate
programs potential faculty of high quality will not be interested. The need to hire six new
aerospace engineering faculty to ensure both undergraduate accreditation and viability of
graduate programs has dictated the budgeting for this project
.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The New Mexico Higher Education Department recommends that NMSU should submit a plan
for program evaluation, including specific program goals and criteria for assessing program
effectiveness to the Legislative Finance Committee and HED by August 1, 2007. The institution
shall also submit a program evaluation to the Legislative Finance Committee and HED by June
30, 2010 detailing the benefits to the State of New Mexico from having this program
implemented for a three-year period.
.
pg_0003
House Bill 79 – Page
3
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The Aerospace Engineering program will be developed by and initially administered by NMSU
Department of Mechanical Engineering. This department will become the “Department of
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering" (name change approved by NMSU).
DUPLICATION
House Bill 79 duplicates the wording, but not the line structure, of SB 8.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
This analysis and the analyses by NMSU and HED classify the appropriation as recurring. The
HED narrative notes that it
is a non-recurring appropriation that would support salaries . . ."
while NMSU indicates the program will require an annual $1.0 million appropriation.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1.
Is this a one-time appropriation or does NMSU intend to request annual, and therefore
recurring, appropriations.
BM/nt