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 Chasey
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1-31-2007
HB 353
SHORT TITLE Veterans’ Service Dept. Lung Cancer Detection
SB
ANALYST Dearing
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$1,300.0 Nonrecurring Tobacco Settlement
Program Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08
FY09 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
*$133.0
Nonrecurring
Tobacco
Settlement
Program Fund
*Please see narrative
Duplicates SB304
Relates to HB89 and HB90
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Health (DOH)
Veterans’ Services Department (VSD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 353 appropriates $1.3 million for expenditure in FY08 from the Tobacco Settlement
Program fund to Veterans’ Services department to contract with an organization to provide
validation of diagnostic technology for the early detection of lung cancer. The contract would
provide funding for a longitudinal study administered by the department. The non-invasive
pg_0002
House Bill 353 – Page
2
diagnostic method mentioned in the bill was recently developed in New Mexico. Participants in
the study would number approximately 2500 New Mexico resident veterans.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $1.3 million contained in House Bill 353 is a nonrecurring expense to the
Tobacco Settlement Program fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the
end of FY08 shall revert to the Tobacco Settlement Program fund.
In addition to the contract’s expense, Veterans’ Services department has stated a need for 2 FTE
in the event that House Bill 353 is enacted. The $1.3 million for programming from the Tobacco
Settlement Program fund is for a nonrecurring study, however, the department does not state
whether additional FTE would be classified as term positions, and whether these would be paid
through the
Tobacco Settlement Program appropriation
.
The estimate of $133 thousand for 2 FTEs to provide budgetary and program oversight to the
department includes an Epidemiologist for oversight of the cancer study, estimated at $27 hourly
with 30 percent benefit costs, and a financial specialist at $22 hourly with 30 percent benefit
costs for budgetary oversight.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Historical data from the National Cancer Institute shows that New Mexico’s mortality rate from
lung and bronchus cancer is significantly higher than the U.S. rates; per 100 thousand
population. According to the department of health, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer
deaths in both men and women in the US and NM
1
. In general, lung cancer is detected at a point
in the course of the disease where curative methods are no longer successful. In as many as
thirty percent of the cases, by the time lung cancer is detected, it has spread to other organs or
systems. The NM-based contract company’s patented technology, a non-invasive cytology
based assay, is designed for cancer screening of large populations at a reasonable cost.
2
The
National Cancer Institute maintains that existing screening methods for lung cancer are effective
in decreasing mortality.
The National Cancer Institute states that at this point, neither chest X-rays nor spiral CT scans
have been shown to reduce a person's chance of dying from lung cancer. The National Cancer
Institute is conducting a comparison test, the National Lung Screening Trial, to determine
whether one of these methods is preferred for reducing deaths.
At an October Tobacco Settlement Interim Committee meeting the committee adopted a
recommendation for $1.3 million to the Veterans’ department for the first year of the clinical
program for detecting lung cancer in state veterans using a technology developed in New
Mexico.
The proposed language is specific in its criteria for participating contract organization.
1
NM Department of Health, attributed to the NM Cancer Plan, 2002-2006
2
Businesswire; http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070117/20070117005258.html..v=1
pg_0003
House Bill 353 – Page
3
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
If House Bill 353 is enacted, Veteran Services department indicates it will need 2 FTEs to
provide budgetary and program oversight. Veterans’ Services would be administrating funding
of the program.
DUPLICATION
House Bill 353 duplicates Senate Bill 304.
RELATIONSHIP
House Bill 353 relates to House Bills 89 and 90. House Bill 89 appropriates $150 thousand from
the general fund to the Indian Affairs department to promote tobacco cessation in southwestern
Cibola County, using traditional health services such as Navajo blessing way teachings, for
residents from the region near the Ramah Navajo community, while House Bill 90 appropriates
$100 thousand for the same purpose. Both proposed bills are recurring appropriations to the
general fund.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
If House Bill 353 is not enacted, there would be no appropriation from the Tobacco Settlement
Program fund for this longitudinal data study.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
Would passage of this act possibility violate the anti-donation clause of the New Mexico
Constitution, Article IV., Section 31, Appropriations for Charitable, Educational, etc. purposes.
PD/csd