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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Lovejoy

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/16/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Navajo Nation Water Conservation Projects

SB 1046

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$80.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

Public Education Department (PED)

Youth Conservation Corps (YCC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 1046 appropriates $80,000 from the general fund to the Indian Affairs Department

for the purpose of funding an agreement with a New Mexico not-for-profit corporation for a

youth conservation corps program to engage in watershed restoration projects in the Navajo

Nation.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $80 thousand 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.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

IAD reports the bill funds watershed restoration in the Rio Puerco basin. A summer Youth

Conservation Corps program would enlist local high school students, probably from the eight

Senate Bill 1046 – Page

2

Navajo Nation chapters within the basin’s boundaries. The funds would primarily be allocated

to provide pay for the program participants. It is estimated that 60-70 students could participate

throughout the summer. This level of manpower has the potential to provide significant labor

that would meaningfully benefit restoration efforts. Additionally, the summer season is optimal

for executing watershed restoration projects.

The bill indicates that the program would be administered via a not-for-profit corporation. The

likely entity to fill that role is the Rio Puerco Alliance (“the Alliance"). The Alliance is an

Internal Revenue Service classified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to the restoration

of the Rio Puerco watershed via outreach, education, and collaborative action. It was formed by

members of the Rio Puerco Management Committee, a coalition that undertakes restoration

projects within the Rio Puerco watershed. Its participants include 9 federal agencies, 5 tribes, 13

state agencies, 6 non-profit organizations and interest groups, and numerous residents,

landowners, and interested citizens.

PED offers much of the same information but includes information regarding the value service

learning provides students. Service learning provides students the opportunity to apply

classroom learning with real life situations. Classroom learning becomes relevant as students

apply the knowledge they have gained to solving community problems. Studies in at least three

states have linked participation in service learning to gains on student achievement tests. In

California, students in more than half of the schools with high-quality service learning programs

showed a moderate to strong gain on achievement tests in language arts and/or reading (Weiler,

LaGoy, Crane and Rovner, l998). A study in Indiana found that service learning students had

higher test scores on state assessments in grades 3 and 8 in English and mathematics (Civic

Literacy Project, 2000). In Michigan, students who participated in service learning scored higher

on state tests in mathematics and reading for comprehension.

MW/csd