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

SPONSOR Salazar

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/08

HB 130

SHORT TITLE Northern NM State School Pueblos Institute

SB

ANALYST Haug

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Public Education Department (PED)

Indian Affairs Department (IAD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 130 appropriates $100.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of Northern

New Mexico State School (

Northern New Mexico College) for the Northern Pueblos Institute to

serve the eight northern pueblos’ higher education needs.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the

general fund.

The HED states that a request was submitted by NNMC to the New Mexico Higher Education

Department (NMHED) for review. The NMHED funding recommendation for FY09 is a

continuance of FY08 recurring funding in the amount of $60,000, with no additional funding at

this time.

The HED’s evaluation table of FY09 Research and Public Service Projects provided to the LFC

House Bill 130 – Page

2

classifies this project as a “supports state priorities" project. Reasons for this classification

decision are not provided. (LFC Report 07-20, Higher Education Department Review of

Selected Research and Public Service Projects, January 12, 2008, Table 4, p75.)

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The HED states that a Memorandum of Agreement in 2005 between NNMC and the Eight

Northern Indian Pueblos Council, Inc. (ENIPC) formally established the Northern Pueblos

Institute (NPI), whose mission is to improve their communities through collaborative (or

partnership) efforts using the combined resources of ENIPC and NNMC. Per one of the NPI co-

Directors, funding will be used to:

•

Hire one full-time or two half-time faculty to teach 13 available courses that provide an

opportunity for students to earn an Associates Degree in Pueblo Indian Studies, the only

such degree offered in the U.S. Currently, the two co-Directors teach in addition to their

administrative responsibilities, along with several renown pueblo subject matter experts.

•

Increase salary for the two co-Directors currently sharing one salary.

•

Develop a curriculum that could offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelors degree.

•

Expand special projects coordinated by NPI.

According to the PED, NPI serves as a center to the eight northern pueblos in the following

ways:

•

provides technical assistance and ad hoc research assistance to the ENIPC leadership and

the individual pueblos as requested;

•

develops resource materials for pueblo offices as requested;

•

disseminates and investigates tribal policy, legislative and community issues (examples:

water rights, economic development, tribal taxation, education, environmental issues, and

others);

•

develops and holds informational workshops or forums at NNMC on a topic identified as

critical to problem-solving by the ENIPC leadership as a bridge to the wider community;

•

provides opportunities for Northern college students who are enrolled members of the

Northern Pueblos to learn about pueblo government and official operations while

providing technological services to their home communities; and

•

increases awareness of pueblo cultural practices, values and beliefs in students, staff and

faculty on the NNMC campus.

GH/mt