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

SPONSOR Miera

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/1/08

HB 543

SHORT TITLE Veterans’ Dept. Stress & Homeless Programs

SB

ANALYST Dearing

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$20.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to General Appropriations Act

Responses Received From

Veterans’ Services Department (VSD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 543 appropriates $20 thousand from the general fund to Veterans Service department

to expand post-traumatic stress disorder programs services, services to address veteran

homelessness, and arts and cultural programming for New Mexico veterans.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $20 thousand contained in House Bill 543 is a recurring expense to the

General Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall

revert to the General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur following

the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event. A traumatic event is a life-

threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious

accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. Most survivors of trauma

return to normal given a little time. However, some people will have stress reactions

that do not go away on their own, or may even get worse over time. These individuals

may develop PTSD.

House Bill 543 – Page

2

People with PTSD experience three different kinds of symptoms. The first set of

symptoms involves reliving the trauma in some way such as becoming upset when

confronted with a traumatic reminder or thinking about the trauma when you are trying

to do something else. The second set of symptoms involves either staying away from

places or people that remind you of the trauma, isolating from other people, or feeling

numb. The third set of symptoms includes things such as feeling on guard, irritable, or

startling easily.

1

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

In all likelihood, the incidence of PTSD among returning and separating service members will

increase due to recent and ongoing combat campaigns.

RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 543 relates to the Veterans’ Services Department budget for FY09 as recommended

in the HAFC substitution for House Bill 2. House Bill 2 includes section 4 recurring funding of

$247.5 thousand and a section 5, special appropriation of $150 thousand for homeless veteran

services to the department; and an expansion of $65 thousand to the department in section 4,

(recurring) to provide services for traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder.

PD/bb

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PTSD Definition, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_what_is_ptsd.html