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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR M. H. Garcia
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/23/2007
HB 136
SHORT TITLE NM State Chile Industry Research
SB
ANALYST McOlash
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$7,000.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates SB 196, except for title.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
New Mexico State University – College of Agriculture & Home Economics (NMSU-CAHE)
Higher Education Department (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 136 appropriates $7.0 million from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of New
Mexico State University for expenditure in FY 2008 and subsequent fiscal years for research to
support the chile industry in New Mexico.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $7.0 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General
Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not
revert.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The passage of recent international trade laws has impacted the New Mexico chile industry re-
sulting in loss of market share. According to the New Mexico Chile Institute, 80% of chile
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House Bill 136 – Page
2
consummed in the United States is imported. The imported chile comes from countries which
have significantly lower labor and production costs than New Mexico. At this time, the largest
producers are China, Peru, and India.
New Mexico is the leading chile producer in the United States. Chile production also ranks first
in horticultural crop cash receipts for New Mexico. In order to maintain the industry’s economic
viability, new technologies need to be developed to address production and labor costs and to
increase crop yields.
New Mexico State University reports the chile industry in Dońa Ana, Luna and Hidalgo counties
generates $418 million annually in economic activity. This economic activity includes 10,000 to
15,000 part-time harvesting jobs and 5,322 permanent jobs created directly in the chile industry
and indirectly in other business sectors. Chile is a vital, high-value component of the region’s
cropping system. It provides financial stability in the cropping system rotation that includes cot-
ton, alfalfa, silage, onions and other vegetables. Chile’s loss could jeopardize banks’ willingness
to provide financing to farming operations. Quality-of-life benefits are tied to a healthy farm
economy and to the cultural significance of the crop. Locally and statewide, chile’s cultural sig-
nificance has a direct impact on the tourism industry and niche product markets.
The proposed funding is intended to play a role in the avoidance of the devastation that results
from farms, businesses, jobs, and income lost to foreign competition through 1) improvement of
management practices; 2) reduction of costs through harvesting system mechanization; and 3)
expansion of market opportunities.
This request was not on the list of priority projects submitted by New Mexico State University to
the HED for review and was not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for
FY08.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The Higher Education Department recommends that NMSU submit a plan for program evalua-
tion, including specific program goals and criteria for assessing program effectiveness to the
Legislative Finance Committee and the New Mexico Higher Education Department by August 1,
2007. The institution shall also submit a program evaluation to the Legislative Finance Commit-
tee and the New Mexico Higher Education Department by June 30, 2010 detailing the benefits to
the State of New Mexico from having this program implemented for a three-year period.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
House Bill 136 (NM State Chile Industry Research) is a duplicate of SB 196 (NMSU Chile In-
dustry Research), except for title.
BM/mt