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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
2/10/07
HB 957
SHORT TITLE Educational Training For G.E.D. Candidates
SB
ANALYST Propst
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$200.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to SB 430 and duplicates SB 843.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Higher Education Department (HED)
Public Education Department
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 957 appropriates $200.0 from the General Fund to the Local Government Division of
the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) for expenditure in FY08 for the City of
Albuquerque and Bernalillo County to collaborate in providing educational training for persons
attempting to attain their General Education Development (GED) certificate.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $200.0 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
HED reports that, New Mexico is one of the lowest performing states in the percentage of young
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House Bill 957 – Page
2
people earning a high school credential. About 18% of New Mexico adults do not have a high
school diploma or its equivalent. According to the 2000 census, 15.6% (55,858) of adults over
age 25 are without a high school diploma in Bernalillo County.
Earning a high school diploma is one of the most effective ways to move into sustainable
employment. The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) Adult Basic Education
(ABE) Division oversees GED programs around New Mexico that help people transition to
college, enter the workforce, and assist their children to be successful in school. ABE programs
serve people 16 years and older whose skills are below a 12th grade equivalent.
The NMHED ABE Division currently oversees five ABE programs offering GED services in the
City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County: Central New Mexico Community College, Catholic
Charities, Ser de New Mexico, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, and the University of
New Mexico at Los Alamos. These programs are accountable to NMHED which has instituted a
new state-of-the-art database, state-level policies, and fiscal procedures. A state-wide
professional development plan has been approved by the United States Office of Vocational and
Adult Education (OVAE) and is being implemented by the New Mexico Adult Education
Association (NMAEA). NMAEA recently celebrated 39 years of service to the state.
ABE local programs have entered into partnerships with other agencies to enhance services
offered. For example, the ENMU-Ruidoso ABE director is also the manager of that community
one-stop center for workforce development. NMSU-Dona Ana Community College partners
with public school Even Start programs to provide family literacy and educational opportunities
to parents. Thirty-nine percent of ABE enrolled students were under 25 years of age in FY05-06.
By partnering with Youth Development, Incorporated (YDI), the NMHED ABE Division can
bring the existing accountability system and its best practices to the proposed program
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
No specific administrative entity is mentioned in HB 957. NMHED administers a state allocation
and a federal grant to operate ABE and GED programs in NM.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
HB 957 relates to SB 430, which requests $2,000.0 to expand ABE programs across the state
.
Duplicates SB 843.
ALTERNATIVES
An alternative to appropriating HB 957 funds to DFA would be to flow the funding through
NMHED and the ABE accountability and professional development systems.
WEP/mt