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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Leavell
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/10/2007
HB
SHORT TITLE Western Heritage Museum & Cowboy Hall of Fame SB 557
ANALYST
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$200.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
NM Department of Higher Education (NMHED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 557 appropriates $200,000 from the General Fund to the New Mexico Higher
Education Department (NMHED) for expenditure in FY08 for New Mexico Junior College
(NMJC) to fund the operation of the Western Heritage Museum (WHM) and Lea County
Cowboy Hall of Fame (LCCHF).
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $200,000 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 advises that the WHM and the LCCHF have been housed on the NMJC campus for 28
years. In June 2004, construction on a new 26,994 square-foot building began. The cost of the
project was approximately $5,000,000. According to the RPSP submitted by NMJC, the
institution received funding in 2000, 2002, and 2004 through various streams including general