Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports
if they are used for other purposes.
Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).
Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and
attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Papen
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/30/07
HB
SHORT TITLE UNM-NMSU Cooperative Pharmacy Program
SB 183
ANALYST Baca
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$516.3
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates HB 105
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
New Mexico State University, College of Health & Social Services (NMSU-CHSS)
Department of Health (DOH)
Health Policy Commission (HPC)
Higher Education Department (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 183 appropriates $516,300 from the general fund to the board of regents of the
University of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in fiscal year 2008 to create a cooperative
pharmacy program in conjunction with New Mexico State University (NMSU) to enhance
accessibility of pharmacy education in southern New Mexico; to reduce the shortage of
pharmacists in southern New Mexico; to serve the pharmaceutical care needs of underserved
persons in southern New Mexico; and to increase the diversity of the pharmacy profession in
southern New Mexico.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $516,300 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2008 shall revert
to the general fund.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 183 – Page
2
NMSU-CHSS reports that the request will provide funds to hire two new pharmacy faculty
members, an administrative assistant and provide scholarship support for 10 students per year
who would be admitted to a cooperative program where the admitted student would complete
pre-pharmacy coursework (64 semester credit hours) at NMSU followed by four years of
instruction at the UNM College of Pharmacy. The proposed budget is as follows:
Personnel
--2 faculty $210,000
--1 staff $ 40,000
--fringe on these $ 66,250
Expenses
--Materials and travel $ 20,000
--Equipment and supplies $ 30,000
--Scholarships $150,250
TOTAL: $516,300
The Dean of NMSU-CHSS writes:" I agree that the above budget is well balanced and am happy
to see a significant increase in the scholarships for students (well above the proposal from last
year."
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Agency analysis received report that the UNM / NMSU Cooperative Pharmacy Program is
designed to increase the number of pharmacy students from southern New Mexico and the
number of pharmacists in the area. Southern New Mexico has a severe pharmacist shortage with
43 pharmacists per 100,000, or ½ the national average for the 19 counties south of Bernalillo.
Further, the reporting agencies submit:
Boards of Regents of New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico
have pledged cooperation on the pharmacy program and will work together to seek the
funding from the 2007 legislature.
This request was not on the list of priority projects submitted by New Mexico State University to
the New Mexico Higher Education Department for review and was not included in the
Departmental funding recommendations for FY08.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
In its analysis, UNM expresses concern over funding that might be generated through student
credit production hours, namely:
The Cooperative Pharmacy Program will produce approximately 1,000 Student Credit
Hours for the College of Pharmacy will generate approximately $1,293,000 in new
revenue. However, this estimated revenue will materialize only if UNM “breaks out of
the band" for formula workload funding. The Cooperative Pharmacy Program revenue
estimates are based on the 1000 new SCH that the program will produce. However, the
funding base for UNM is over 600,000 SCH, requiring an overall gain of some 18,000
SCH to be eligible for new funding. UNM’s enrollment forecasts indicate relatively flat
enrollments for the next 3-5 years.
pg_0003
Senate Bill 183 – Page
3
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
This represents a targeted response to the well documented pharmacy shortage in the southern
portion of New Mexico and the growing need for pharmacists with the Pharmacy Degree. This
need for additional pharmacists, especially culturally appropriate ones, is particularly critical in
the state’s rural areas.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
The needs of southern New Mexico citizens as perceived and documented by proponents of this
bill will not be met.
LRB/csd