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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Asbill
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2-13-2007
HB
SHORT TITLE Military Veteran Lottery Scholarship
SB 685
ANALYST Dearing
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
*NFI
Recurring
Lottery Scholarship
Fund
*Please see narrative
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08
FY09 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$96.2
$96.2
$192.4 Recurring Lottery
Scholarship
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates House Bill 282
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Higher Education Department (HED)
Veterans’ Services Department (VSD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 685 carries no appropriation. If enacted, Senate Bill 685 would amend Sections 21-
1-4. 3; 21-13-10; and 21-16-10.1 NMSA 1978. Senate Bill 685 would extend eligibility for the
New Mexico Lottery Success Scholarship program to extend scholarship program eligibility to
certain currently ineligible returning military veterans.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 685 – Page
2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
*No appropriation. If enacted, Senate Bill 685 would extend the amount of time that an exiting
(separating) military veteran has eligibility to scholarships through the Lottery Success program.
Under the current framework, an individual has until the 120
th
day following the last day of
enlistment to enroll into a New Mexico post-secondary institution and still remain eligible for
scholarships. Senate Bill 685 would alter this framework such that a departing military member
would have 12 months from their end of active service to attend a post-secondary institution, and
remain eligible for the program.
1
The fiscal impact would be incurred by the Lottery Tuition Fund. The Higher Education
department estimates that approximately 75 additional veterans of the armed forces could
become eligible to receive the Lottery Success Scholarship were Senate Bill 685 enacted. Using
this estimate of additional impact, the estimated additional operating budget costs of the program
would be $96,200 in FY08. This impact will be recurring.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Since 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised more than $300 million for education in New
Mexico. In that time, more than 43,000 students from across the state have attended New Mexico
public colleges, universities, and technical colleges with the help of a Lottery Success
Scholarship. The scholarship pays for tuition for up to eight consecutive semesters beginning
with the second semester of college enrollment.
The following table shows the prior federal fiscal year U.S. military inductees hailing from New
Mexico. Enactment of Senate Bill 685 would affect a small portion of annual inductees for
several reasons. These include the separating veteran relocating to their last duty station and
long-term enlistments whereby the retiring individual does not seek scholarships for continuing
educational opportunities.
Another significant consideration is availability to veterans of educational benefits under the
federal Montgomery G.I. Bill; as these are broadly available to nearly all new-era veterans.
FFY06 New Mexico Military Inductees
Count
%
United States Navy
287
19.2%
United States Marines
321
21.4%
United States Air Force
233
15.6%
Unites States Army
657
43.9%
TOTAL
1498
100%
Table 1. Federal fiscal year numbers provided courtesy of Naval Recruiting Station, ABQ.
Currently, students who enter into the armed forces within 120 days of high school graduation
are eligible for the Lottery Success Scholarship if they attend a New Mexico college or
university within 120 days after their discharge from the service. However, the financial aid
division of the New Mexico Higher Education Department receives appeal letters and telephone
calls from veterans of the armed forces when they miss the 120 day deadline. In reviewing these
appeals, the Higher Education department provides the following scenario under which a
1
In both the existing and proposed legislation, the individual must have entered into service within 120 days of graduation from a New Mexico
high school or acquisition of general equivalency degree certificate.
pg_0003
Senate Bill 685 – Page
3
separating veteran would be ineligible.
• Student is discharged from service on 08/31/06, but fall semester has already begun.
The student must wait until the spring semester to begin college, which begins on
1/15/07. This is a total of 137 days and under current law, the student is ineligible to
receive the Lottery Success Scholarship.
DUPLICATION
Senate Bill 685 duplicates HB282.
RELATIONSHIP
Senate Bill 685 relates to House Bill 275 and House Bill 361. Both of these pieces of legislation
expand eligibility for the Lottery Success Scholarship to currently ineligible sub-sets of the
population. House Bill 275 expands this eligibility to students attending tribal colleges and
House Bill 361 expands eligibility to military dependents of New Mexico residents.
ALTERNATIVES
Currently ineligible veterans can apply and qualify for other state and federal programs,
including the Montgomery G.I. Bill.
PD/nt