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committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

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

SPONSOR Cisneros

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/08

HB

SHORT TITLE Deceased Service Member License Plates

SB 56

ANALYST Earnest

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

FY10

None

($201.0)

($201.0)

Recurring

State Road Fund

(Vehicle Reg &

Admin)

None

($68.0)

($68.0)

Recurring

Local Governments

(Vehicle Reg &

Admin)

None

($5.0)

($5.0)

Recurring

Highway

Infrastructure Fund

None

($2.5)

($2.5)

Recurring Recycling and Illegal

Dumping Fund

None

($2.5)

($2.5)

Recurring Litter Control and

Beautification Fund

None

($10.0)

($10.0)

Recurring

Motor Vehicle

Division (MFRA

Program)

None

($6.0)

($6.0)

Recurring

Motor Vehicle

Division

(Administrative

Fees)

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

Source: Taxation and Revenue Department. Revenue impact assumes the issuance of 5,000

license plates.

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY09

FY10

FY11 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$41.0

$41.0

$0

$82.0

Non-

Recurring General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

See Fiscal Impact section for detail

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Senate Bill 56 – Page

2

Responses Received From

Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD)

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Department of Military Affairs

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 56 creates a new license plate for surviving spouses or parents of a service member

killed in an armed conflict with an enemy of the United States. Applicants will have to provide

proof that they are a surviving spouse or parent, and anyone found to be falsely claiming this will

be guilty of a misdemeanor. No fee will be collected for the issuance of the special plate, and

regular vehicle registration fees would be waived for qualified applicants.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

By eliminating registration fees for surviving spouses and parents of service members killed in

armed conflict, the state would forgo revenue. The revenue impact is based on an assumption of

the issuance of 5,000 plates. The recurring revenue impact totals $295 thousand, beginning in

FY09. TRD does not project that any plates will be issued in FY08.

According to TRD, the Department of Veterans Services Benefits Division reports that death

benefits are being received by 4,732 dependents. Parents of those killed in action would also be

eligible for the special plate.

The fiscal impact includes revenue loss associated with:

•

Vehicle Registration Fees (averaging $53) distributed to the State Road Fund (74.65%)

and Local Governments (25.35%);

•

$1.50 Tire Recycling Fee distributed to Highway Infrastructure Fund (66.67%) and

Recycling and Illegal Dumping Fund (33.33%);

•

$0.50 Beautification Fee distributed to the Litter Control and Beautification Fund;

•

$2.00 Mandatory Financial Responsibility Fee distributed to the Motor Vehicle Division;

•

$2.00 Administrative Fee distributed to the Motor Vehicle Division (62.5%), the State

Road Fund (28%), and Local Governments (9.5%).

TRD also projects an adverse administrative impact on MVD. The combined effect of lost

operating revenue ($16 thousand) and increased production costs associated with the new plate

($25 thousand) amount to about $41 thousand per year, which would need to be appropriated

from the general fund.

DOT reports that while it is difficult to accurately predict the number of plates that will be

requested, it can be estimated that for every 1,000 deceased service member license plates

issued, the total amount of state revenue lost is approximately $53,200.

Senate Bill 56 – Page

3

TECHNICAL ISSUES

TRD notes the following technical issues:

•

This new special registration plate proposal is not drafted in accord with the provisions of

Section 66-3-424 Standardized Special Registration Plates with Logos (2003 Legislative

Session).

•

The bill does not require that the spouse be married to the service member at the time the

service member was killed.

•

The bill would apply to survivors of allied servicemen killed, and not only to U.S.

servicemen.

•

The bill does not define “armed conflict".

BE/bb