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

SPONSOR Hall

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/2007

HB 794

SHORT TITLE Fight Obesity in School Children

SB

ANALYST Aguilar

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to appropriations in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

Department of Health (DOH)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 794 appropriates $250 thousand from the general fund to the Public Education

Department for the purpose of funding a pilot program in five elementary schools partnering

with a nonprofit organization, directed at health education and physical fitness to fight obesity

and promote physical fitness in school children.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 208 shall

revert to the general fund.

The LFC remains concerned with funding initiatives outside of the funding formula as it tends to

disequalize school funding and diverts funding away from core educational needs.

House Bill 794 – Page

2

Funding for elementary physical education is contained in the General Appropriations Act.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

At least 27% of New Mexico high school students and 24% of New Mexico’s 2 to 5 year olds

who participate in federally funded nutrition programs are overweight or at risk of becoming

overweight. Overweight acquired during childhood and adolescence is likely to persist into

adulthood and increase the risk for a number of chronic and debilitating diseases. As body mass

index increases, so does the risk for hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Early

intervention in elementary school and earlier to prevent overweight is the key to counteracting

this epidemic. HB 794 proposes to increase physical activity at the elementary school level for

five schools. Increasing regular exercise for children in elementary school has been

demonstrated to be an effective strategy for improving fitness and reducing body mass index.

PA/nt