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 Dixon
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/13/2024
SHORT TITLE Use of State Devices for CYFD Business
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 203
ANALYST Hernandez
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
CYFD Up to $5,000.0 Up to $4,000.0 Up to $9,000.0 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Receiv
ed From
Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD)
Office of Family Representation and Advocacy (OFRA)
New Mexico Attorney General (NMAG)
State Personnel Office (SPO)
State Records Center and Archives (SRCA)
Agency Declined to Respond
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 203
House Bill 203 (HB203) creates a n
ew section of the Children, Youth, and Families Department
(CYFD) Act. The bill requires that CYFD employees only use their department issued devices
for communication related to their assigned duties—non-compliance is considered grounds for
termination. Additionally, the only software and applic ations allowed must be compliant with
federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal data retention and protection laws.
HB203 also requires the Department to create a system approved by the Department of
Information and Technology that backs up all electronic records generated and received by
employees on an hourly basis. This data must be saved for at least 24 years prior to the
termination of an employee’s employment.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, w
ould go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025. House Bill 203 – Page 2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
CYFD states that they would need nine additional full-time equivalencies (FTEs) to meet the
demand of HB203, which would cost approximately $1.9 million. However, the Department
currently has four fully funded vacant positions in program support, so the total number of staff
needed may be fewer. CYFD also indicates that “the estimated fiscal impact for data storage,
implementation and maintenance is an additional $2.1 million per year, with an initial planning
and equipment estimate of non-recurring costs estimated at $1.0 million.”
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The New Mexico Attorney General notes that:
The bill mandates a 24-year retention period for electronic records post-employee
termination. This duration is more stringent than those listed in the established records
retention and disposition schedules outlined in state administrative code (1.21.2 NMAC),
which specify varying retention periods based on record type and function. Implementing
a uniform 24-year retention period could lead to inconsistencies with these schedules,
though the statute would take precedence.”
Additionally, the Attorney General raises potential concerns about an employee’s right to due
process: “Public employees generally have due process protections under the New Mexico
Constitution and Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, if tenured or classified.
Immediate termination without an opportunity for a hearing—although termination is
discretionary per the current language—may violate these protections.”
AEH/rl/SR