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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Altamirano
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/22/2007
HB
SHORT TITLE WNMU ATHLETIC PROGRAM NEEDS
SB 125
ANALYST McOlash
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$427.5
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
New Mexico Department of Higher Education (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 125 appropriates $427,500 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of West-
ern New Mexico University (WNMU) for expenditure in FY 2008 and FY 2009 to fund in-
creased travel expenses, conference commitments, staffing and equipment needs, and gender eq-
uity requirements in athletic programs.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $427,500 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2009 shall revert to the
general Fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to the Associate Athletic Director, WNMU recently joined the Rocky Mountain Ath-
letic Conference (RMAC). Membership in the RMAC allows representation for all the univer-
sity's sports programs, unlike other conferences. The sports conference requires travel further
pg_0002
Senate Bill 125 – Page
2
than the university is accustomed into the states of Colorado and Nebraska. Additional funding
would pay for extended travel requirements, full-time permanent coaches (instead of part-time
temporary), sports equipment, and an expansion of existing sports activities to include women.
A proposal of $427,500 was submitted to the New Mexico Higher Education Department by
WNMU as an increase to FY07 recurring funding. The HED recommended a funding level of
$1,882,900 for WNMU athletics - an increase of $250,000.
BM/nt:mt