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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Ulibarri
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/15/2007
HB
SHORT TITLE NM Tech Border Security System
SB 1070
ANALYST Moser
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$770.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
NM Higher Education Department (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 1070 appropriates $770,000 from the General Fund in FY08 to the Board of Regents
of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) for the Energetic Materials Research
and Testing Center (EMRTC) to develop a border security system for the tracking of human and
animal movements.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $770,000 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 provides per information from the EMRTC Director, it is estimated that the funding will be
used as follows:
Equipment and special instrumentation ($175,000-$270,000)
pg_0002
Senate Bill 1070 – Page
2
Salaries/benefits of existing personnel and/or contractors ($300,000)
Infrastructure support ($200,000)
According to information on the NMT website, the EMRTC is a major component within the
overall complex of research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) activities at NMT.
EMRTC is a world-class RDT&E complex of more than 30 test facilities located within its 40
square-mile field research complex. The center has more than 100 highly experienced,
technically proficient professionals who perform in-depth scientific investigations and studies in
a number of technology areas in conjunction with and/or for: the Departments of Defense, State,
Energy, Justice, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; Los Alamos National
Laboratory; Sandia National Laboratories; and other academic institutions across the country.
Additionally, NMT was one of nine research universities in the southwest border-states that have
announced the formation of the Southwest Border Security Consortium (SBSC), an alliance that
will develop and promote scientific and policy solutions to issues affecting the U.S.-Mexico
border region.
A request for the recurring amount of $766,800 was submitted to the New Mexico Higher
Education Department (NMHED) by NMT and included in the Department’s funding
recommendation for FY08. Also, a request for an additional sum ($568,500) was submitted to
NMHED by NMT but is not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY08.
GM/csd