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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 Web-Based Criminal Justice Programs

SB 137

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$375.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 137 appropriates $375,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of

Western New Mexico University for expenditure in FY 2008 to establish and maintain web-

based criminal justice programs.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $375,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2008 shall revert to the

General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The WNMU Criminal Justice Program offers students the opportunity to prepare for careers in

law enforcement and corrections. The program has been expanded to offer a Bachelor's Degree

for working police officers and a potential Border Patrol Agents at the federal level. The

University targets New Mexico students, but is bringing in transfer students from Arizona and

Senate Bill 137 – Page

2

Texas. The Criminal Justice Program offered six online courses for the first time last fall, and

began with more than 20 students enrolled in those courses. Based on the demand, the program

estimates future enrollment of up to 100 students within a very short time.

This request was not on the list of priority projects submitted by WNMU to the New Mexico

Higher Education Department for review and was not included in the HED’s funding

recommendation for FY08.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Higher Education Department indicates that program planning is essential to prepare for

accelerated growth in a controlled manner, with critical funding in place.

BM/nt