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 Lara
/Chávez, E.
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 3/3/2025
SHORT TITLE Homeless Student Liaison
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 537
ANALYST Jorgensen
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
FY25 FY26
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
$500.0 Recurring 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 Higher Ed.
Institutions
No fiscal
impact
$700.0 $700.0 $1,400.0 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Higher Education Department (HED) New Mexico Independent Community Colleges (NMICC) New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM Tech) University of New Mexico (UNM)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 537
House Bill 537 (HB537) requires all four-year higher education institutions to designate a full-
time staff member to act as a liaison for students experiencing homelessness. The liaison shall be
tasked with identifying and contacting students who are or are at risk of homelessness and
assisting those students with completing applications for financial aid as well as providing other
services such as managing coursework. The bill requires each liaison to publish training
materials to help faculty and staff recognize homelessness as well as describing resources
available. The bill also requires HED to work with the New Mexico basic needs consortium to
provide training to liaisons and administer an annual survey of students experiencing
homelessness.
House Bill 537 – Page 2
HB537 appropriates $500 thousand from the general fund to HED to provide training to higher
education liaisons, faculty, and staff regarding students experiencing homelessness.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $500 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY26 shall revert to the
general fund.
The University of New Mexico estimates the salary and benefits cost would be approximately
$100 thousand per institution per year. There are seven constitutional higher education
institutions affected, bringing the total annual cost to $700 thousand as reflected in the estimated
additional operating budget table.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
For the past three consecutive years, the Legislature has included additional funding to higher
education institutions for student support services. “Support services” in the budget is not
defined and could include supports for students experiencing homelessness. How student support
funding is used depends on the decisions made by each institution.
HB537 applies only to four-year colleges and excludes branch and community colleges.
CJ/hj