Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Zamora
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 02/08/2025
SHORT TITLE
Gaming Control Board Director
Qualifications
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 155
ANALYST Montano
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
GCB No fiscal impact $167.5 $167.5 $335.0 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Gaming Control Board (GCB) New Mexico Attorney General (AG) State Personnel Office (SPO) Agency Declined to Respond
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 155
House Bill 155 (HB155) amends Section 60-2E-9 NMSA 1978 of the Gaming Control Act by
modifying the employment qualifications and salary limitations for the executive director of the
Gaming Control Board. The bill removes the requirement the executive director have
supervisory experience specifically in a governmental gaming regulatory agency, instead
allowing experience in either a regulatory agency or the gaming industry. It also eliminates the
salary cap that previously prevented the executive director’s compensation from exceeding the
governor's salary, granting the Gaming Control Board full discretion to set the position’s annual
salary.
The effective date of this bill is July 1, 2025.
House Bill 155 – Page 2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
From GCB:
The salary range for executive directors of agencies of similar size varies between 20
thousand to 30 thousand dollars higher than what the GCB is legally able to pay now.
Additionally, the executive director of every other state agency, board and commission is
qualified to receive the pay raises granted by the Legislature to every other state
employee without limitation.
Based on the State Personnel Office’s roster of state employees for July 1, 2024, or the beginning
of FY25, the state had 10 executive directors. Their yearly salary ranged from $81.5 thousand to
$157.3 thousand, which equates to an average yearly salary of $131 thousand. Adding a 28
percent multiplier to account for state employee benefits, the estimated additional operating
budget impact of an executive director for GCB would be a recurring cost of $167.5 thousand.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
GCB contends broadening the required qualifications and removing the salary cap will allow for
a larger pool of possible applicants, which in turn would make the hiring process more
competitive. The executive director position has been vacant at GCB since September 1, 2023.
From GCB:
The New Mexico Gaming Control Board is the only agency, board, or commission in the
state with a cap on the salary of an executive director. The New Mexico Gaming Control
Board has the only executive director salary that is tied to the salary of the governor of
New Mexico. This makes that position ineligible for merit pay increases once the current
salary cap has been reached. Additionally, they aren’t eligible for pay increases granted
by the state Legislature once the salary cap established by the current governor’s salary
has been reached.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The executive director of GCB would be expected to lead the agency’s operations, ensure
compliance with gaming regulations, and represent the agency to other organizations and
legislators. Employing a position of this magnitude could improve the performance of the
agency.
NM/hj/hg