Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

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

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

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

SPONSOR Martinez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/27/08

HB

SHORT TITLE State Library Division Grants-In-Aid

SB 215

ANALYST Dearing

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$3,264.2

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Cultural Affairs Department (DCA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 215 appropriates $3.26 million from the general fund to the State Library division of

the Cultural Affairs department for the purpose of increasing grant distributions to statewide

public libraries under the Grants-In-Aid for local library services program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $3.26 million contained in Senate Bill 215 is a recurring expense to the

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

subsequent years shall not revert to the General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The appropriation in Senate Bill 215 would increase the amount of funds available for grants-in-

aid to public libraries. The grants-in-aid program allocates state money to public libraries for the

purposes of funding new library materials, staff training and library equipment. The grants-in-

aid program received $273,000 in FY08, which was allocated to 85 public libraries in the state

and resulted in an average grant of $3,217.

Senate Bill 215 – Page

2

At the current funding level, the per capita amount of NM state aid (based on 2007 census

estimates) is $0.14. This compares to an average per capita amount of $1.83 in state aid for 21

similarly sized states, i.e., with a population of under 3 million. The amount requested,

$3,624,200, if allocated in one fiscal year, would result in a per capita amount for NM of $1.67

in state aid making NM comparable to the average for other similarly sized states. The average

library award, in that case, would increase to approximately $42,637.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

According to the department response, no additional operating budget impact is necessary, as

this is an existing program. The increased appropriation to the program will result in larger

grants-in-aid to each library, but no additional staff time or agency resources will be required to

make the allocations.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

If enacted, the LFC recommends that the Cultural Affairs department submit a plan for

enhanced/adjusted program evaluation measurement targets to incorporate increased outcome

commensurate with larger appropriation levels.

The increased appropriation to grants-in-aid for public libraries will allow statewide public

libraries to increase funding for new library materials, staff training and library equipment. This

will strengthen libraries as they support the educational, informational and computing needs of

their communities and contribute to the economic growth of these communities. Current

measurements tracking outreach participation numbers for the division could be impacted

through an increased appropriation.

PD/bb