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

SPONSOR:	Varela		DATE TYPED:	03/02/03		HB	852
SHORT TITLE:		Change Extended Learning Fund				SB
					ANALYST:		Williams

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY03	FY04	FY03	FY04
	NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

I T Management Office (ITMO)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

The bill would rename the extended learning fund; the new name would be higher education technology fund. The bill would remove pilot projects from the type of projects eligible for funding, and eligibility for funding is expanded to include information technology projects.

Significant Issues

The Extended Learning Fund was created in 1995 for distance education project funding, but never received an appropriation.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

No fiscal impact. The bill does not include an appropriation.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Annually CHE reviews IT project requests by institutions to make a recommendation to the legislature. External technical reviewers include Los Alamos National Laboratory, State Department of Education, Office of the Chief Information Officer and private businesses. Evaluation criteria include educational need, operational justification, technical detail and overall merit and quality. Requests must be consistent with the State IT Strategic Plan.

AW/yr