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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR M.P. Garcia
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/31/07
HB 631
SHORT TITLE ALBUQUERQUE DONATED BICYCLE REPAIRS SB
ANALYST Propst
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$15.0
Nonrecurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 631 appropriates $15.0 from the General Fund to the Local Government Division of
the Department of Finance and Administration to contract with a community organization that
serves the west Central metropolitan redevelopment area in Albuquerque, to implement a
community bicycle program to restore and repair donated bicycles to needy children and families
to promote healthy and active lifestyles.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $15.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund. Any
unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the General
Fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to DFA the community organization referenced in HB 631 is the West Central
Community Development Group comprised of ten neighborhood associations and 2 business
leaders from the west side of Albuquerque. The organization's mission is to revitalize the West
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House Bill 631 – Page
2
Central, Old Coors, and Unser areas.
One of the founding neighborhood associations is the Vecinos del Bosque Neighborhood
Association, which began a Albuquerque Bicycle Recycling Program. The $15.0 appropriated
from HB 631 will be targeted solely to the Bicycle Recycling Program (BRP) to purchase
helmets, parts, distributing the restored bikes and picking up donated bikes from around the state.
Currently, BRP has approximately 200 bikes waiting for funding and parts donations and
volunteers to restore the bikes. The funding in this bill will enable BRP to move these bikes out
of the warehouse and into the children’s homes.
BRP has been serving the Albuquerque area for approximately two years. It started as a bike
safety program for children who lived within the Vecinos del Bosque Neighborhood Association,
teaching the children to remain safe while riding their bikes along Central and Atrisco Avenues.
It is estimated that the BRP has distributed over 600 bicycles to needy children and adults. The
average restoration cost for a bicycle is between $25 and $30. The recipients of the restored
bicycles pay nothing for the bicycle. All work is done by volunteers, with used bikes, parts and
supplies provided by donation.
The bulk of BRP's assistance is targeted to children in the 1st through 5th grades. School
counselors at the elementary schools select those students most in need of assistance and then
send a letter home to the parents offering the family a free bike. If the student has siblings, those
siblings are also offered free bikes. The family must come to the school where, by lottery, the
children will be able to select a bike for themselves. Before they choose a bike, the children and
their parents must watch a 10 minute bike safety video. A helmet is also given to the child when
he chooses a bike.
BRP also works with the Veterans Hospital and St. Martins Hospitality Center to provide bikes
to needy adults. St. Martins’ counselors select those homeless adults who are making an effort to
improve their lives and BRP provides those individuals with free bicycles to assist with their
transportation needs. The Veterans Hospital uses the restored bikes in two ways (1) to be used at
the hospital for recreational rehab purposes and (2) to give to participants of their rehab program
after the participants have finished.
BRP maintains a web site at www.communitybikerecycling.org.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
DFA indicates that it has the staff and experience to administer this program.
WEP/mt