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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Begaye
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2-24-2007
HB 275/aHEC
SHORT TITLE Tribal College Lottery Scholarships
SB
ANALYST Dearing
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
*($0.1)
Recurring
Lottery Scholarship
Fund
*Please see narrative
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to Senate Bill (s): 110, 689, 426, 688, and 686
Relates to House Bill (s): 571, 361, 740 and 926
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Indian Affairs Department (IAD)
Higher Education Department (HED)
Public Education Department (PED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of HEC Amendment
The House Education Committee amends House Bill 275 such that;
1.) On page 5, line 8, strike “two" and insert in lieu thereof “four".
The House Education Committee amendment makes this change to the proposed legislation,
thereby clarifying its intention. It will now allow four years of scholarship eligibility for students
of the Institute of American Indian Arts, the sole four-year tribal school among those specified in
House Bill 275, however, there are no limiting clauses within the bill specifying that this term of
eligibility shall apply to 4-year schools only.
pg_0002
House Bill 275/aHEC– Page
2
Synopsis of Original Bill
House Bill 275 carries no appropriation. If enacted, House Bill 275 would amend Sections 6-24-
3; 6-24-27; and adds an entirely new Section to NMSA 1978. House Bill 275 would extend
eligibility for the New Mexico Lottery Success Scholarship program such that eligibility for
scholarship program would be available for all otherwise eligible students at New Mexico tribal
colleges.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
Tribal colleges are defined in the bill as a tribally, federally, or congressionally chartered post-
secondary education institution located in New Mexico that is accredited by the North Central
Association of Colleges.
According to a Higher Education survey of tribal colleges, the colleges estimated that only 23
students who attended a tribal college could become eligible to receive the Lottery Success
Scholarship.
*The department therefore estimates the fiscal impact would be $22,000 in FY08. Details of
enrollment demographics at New Mexico tribal colleges were not provided to the LFC, and as
such, the accuracy of this estimate is indeterminate. The incremental fiscal impact to the lottery
fund that will occur with enactment of this legislation could be substantially higher than this
estimate provided by the Higher Education department.
The department estimate is very low for several reasons. For instance, a high percentage of New
Mexico tribal colleges’ students are non-traditional, returning adult students and are not eligible
under the current provisions. Additionally, there are numerous alternative sources of financial
aid.
For instance many grant sources are available directly through the federal Bureau of Indian
Affairs. Both the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque as well as the
Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas are directly operated under the Bureau of
Indian Affairs’ Office of Indian Education program (BIA/OIEP); neither school charge tuition.
“Higher Ed" grants ranging from $500 to $4000 annually are available to qualifying Native
American students for use at 26 other schools through the BIA program.
In addition to undergraduate funding sources, the BIA/OIEP also provides funding to students
through a contract with the American Indian Graduate Center in Albuquerque. All fields of study
are given consideration with priority to Business, Engineering, Health, Law and Natural
Resources.
TRIBAL COLLEGE
ANNUAL TUITION
Crownpoint Institute of Technology
$720
Dine College
$720
Institute of American Indian Arts                                    
$2,400
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
No tuition charged
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The four currently existing tribal colleges, as defined in the bill are:
pg_0003
House Bill 275/aHEC– Page
3
2004-2005 New Mexico
Combined State and
Federal Student
Financial Aid, in m illions
$28.3
$14.8
$183.
$142.
NM Lottery Success
Sc holar ship
Fed. & NM Other Grant &
Sc holar ship
Fed. & NM Work Study/Ser vice
Re lat ed
Fed. & NM Loan Programs
S o ur c e: T he C o nd i t i o n o f Hi g he r ed u c t io n in
Ne w M e xi co , HED, v ar io us ye ar s
Lottery Schol arshi p
Fund Fi sca l
Projections
$0 $20 $40 $60
FY12
FY11
FY10
FY09
FY08
FY07
FY06
M i ll io ns
So ur c e: HED Ex p en di t ur e Es t . ; LF C / DF A
Co n s en s us R ev e nue E s t ima t e
Fund Balance
Revenues
Expenditures
•
The Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
•
The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
•
The Crownpoint Institute of Technology, Crownpoint, New Mexico
•
The Diné College, Shiprock. New Mexico
New Mexico students meeting certain criteria and attending tribal colleges located within the
State would be eligible to receive scholarships from the fund. The Higher Education department
estimates that approximately 2,100 students attend tribal colleges in the State.
According to the American Indian College Fund, "tribal colleges make up less than 1% of higher
education institutions in the nation. However, they educate almost 18% of the American Indian
student population in the U.S." The proportionately large numbers of American Indian students
attending tribal colleges in New Mexico are reflected in the statistics provided in department
report, “The Condition of Higher Education in New Mexico." In the fall of 2005, New Mexico
Public Institutions accounted for 4,210 American Indian students in New Mexico and tribal
colleges accounted for an additional 2,100 American Indian students.
As only 26 institutions are funded through the BIA/OIEP program, some students attending non-
participating tribal colleges and institutions may incur student debt.
ALTERNATIVES, OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
In the 2005-2006 academic year, approximately $36.9 million in Lottery Success scholarship
funds were distributed to New Mexico students. Payouts to beneficiaries continue to exceed
New Mexico Lottery Authority disbursements to the scholarship fund. Recent projections show
fund insolvency around 2012-2013. With overall flat high school graduation
rates expected over this period, projected increases in expenditures are
primarily based on tuition inflation. State student aid dollars from the lottery
program comprise an ever larger component of state spending on higher
education, increasing from 38 percent to 42 percent over the 2002-2003
academic year with subsequent reductions in work-
study and service aid.
Across the country, merit scholarship programs are
undergoing similar solvency issues. Underestimated
and rapidly increasing demand for merit
scholarships and scarce resources have forced other
states to pursue alternatives.
The Lottery program is one component among many
available federal and state student financial aid
sources. Including federal and other state grants,
work-study, and loan programs, the Lottery program
comprises just about 7.7 % of available student
financial aid in NM.
Students excluded from the Lottery Success Scholarship have the
option to apply for other state and federal financial aid programs.
pg_0004
House Bill 275/aHEC– Page
4
RELATIONSHIP
House Bill 209 relates to:
Senate Bill (s): 110, 689, 426, 686,
House Bill (s): 571, 209, 275, 361, and 740
These listed bills create various changes to lottery scholarship eligibility, distributions from the
fund, or otherwise change the Lottery Success program framework.
PD/mt