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 Brown/Montoya
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/12/2025
SHORT TITLE Trade Education Assistance Act
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 272
ANALYST Jorgensen
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
FY25 FY26
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
$100,000.0 Nonrecurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
HED
No fiscal
impact
$110-$120 $110-$120 $220-$240 Recurring General Fund
Total
No fiscal
impact
$110-$120 $110-$120 $220-$240 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Higher Education Department (HED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate Bill 272
House Bill 272 (HB272) creates the Trade Education Assistance Act. The bill allows for a
stipend to be awarded to a student participating in trade education provided the student is a New
Mexico resident, has earned a high school diploma or equivalency at least two years prior to
enrolling in the program but has not received a bachelor’s degree, is not a dependent on another
person’s taxes, and claims at least one dependent on their federal or state income tax return. The
stipends can be awarded for 6 months, and an individual may receive the stipend for up to 2
years totaling no more than $30 thousand per year. A stipend may be terminated if the recipient
fails to satisfactorily participate in a trade education program.
House Bill 272– Page 2
The Higher Education Department (HED) would be responsible for administering the fund and
would be required to report to the Legislative Finance Committee and the Department of Finance
and Administration on the status of the fund, number of participants receiving assistance, and the
types of trade programs approved by HED.
HB272 would create the trade education assistance fund and appropriate $100 million from the
general fund to support the program. The fund is nonreverting and all investment income would
be credited to the fund.
The effective date of this bill is July 1, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $100 million contained in this bill is a nonrecurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not
revert to the general fund.
HED reports that the administration of HB272 will require a full-time employee and estimates
the salary range to be $61.5 thousand to $98.5 thousand per year. The cost of benefits will likely
bring the full-time employee salary cost to approximately $100-$120 thousand per year as
reflected in the estimated additional operating budget impact table.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
HB272 defines a trade education program as a program to “to train individuals to qualify for
licenses or certificates of competence issued pursuant to the Construction Industries Licensing
Act” and requires programs to be approved by HED.
The categories for certificates of competence are: journeyman electrician, journeyman plumber,
journeyman gas fitter, journeyman pipe fitter, journeyman sheet metal worker, journeyman boiler
operator, residential wireman and journeyman welder working on pipelines, collection lines or
compressor stations (60-13-38 NMSA 1978).
HB272 relates to an appropriation in the 2024 General Appropriation Act. The GAA included
$20 million per year for 3 years to pay student tuition and fees for workforce training programs
that include the programs covered under HB272. However, no stipend is available through this
appropriation.
CJ/rl/SR