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

SPONSOR Gutierrez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/29/07

HB 105

SHORT TITLE UNM-NMSU Cooperative Pharmacy Program

SB

ANALYST Baca

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$516.3

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 183

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico State University, College of Health & Social Services (NMSU-CHSS)

Department of Health (DOH)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 105 appropriates $516,300 from the general fund to the board of regents of the

University of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in fiscal year 2008 to create a cooperative

pharmacy program in conjunction with New Mexico State University (NMSU) to enhance

accessibility of pharmacy education in southern New Mexico; to reduce the shortage of

pharmacists in southern New Mexico; to serve the pharmaceutical care needs of underserved

persons in southern New Mexico; and to increase the diversity of the pharmacy profession in

southern New Mexico.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $516,300 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2008 shall revert

to the general fund.

House Bill 105 – Page

2

NMSU-CHSS reports that the request will provide funds to hire two new pharmacy faculty

members, an administrative assistant and provide scholarship support for 10 students per year

who would be admitted to a cooperative program where the admitted student would complete

pre-pharmacy coursework (64 semester credit hours) at NMSU followed by four years of

instruction at the UNM College of Pharmacy. The proposed budget is as follows:

Personnel

--2 faculty $210,000

--1 staff $ 40,000

--fringe on these $ 66,250

Expenses

--Materials and travel $ 20,000

--Equipment and supplies $ 30,000

--Scholarships $150,250

TOTAL: $516,300

The Dean of NMSU-CHSS writes:" I agree that the above budget is well balanced and am happy

to see a significant increase in the scholarships for students (well above the proposal from last

year."

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Agency analysis received report that the UNM / NMSU Cooperative Pharmacy Program is

designed to increase the number of pharmacy students from southern New Mexico and the

number of pharmacists in the area. Southern New Mexico has a severe pharmacist shortage with

43 pharmacists per 100,000, or ½ the national average for the 19 counties south of Bernalillo.

Further, the reporting agencies submit:

Boards of Regents of New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico

have pledged cooperation on the pharmacy program and will work together to seek the

funding from the 2007 legislature.

This request was not on the list of priority projects submitted by New Mexico State University to

the New Mexico Higher Education Department for review and was not included in the

Departmental funding recommendations for FY08.+

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

This represents a targeted response to the well documented pharmacy shortage in the southern

portion of New Mexico and the growing need for pharmacists with the Pharmacy Degree. This

need for additional pharmacists, especially culturally appropriate ones, is particularly critical in

the state’s rural areas.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The needs of southern New Mexico citizens as perceived and documented by proponents of this

bill will not be met.

LRB/mt