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 Garratt
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 1/24/25
SHORT TITLE Loan Forgiveness Multiplier Act
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 69
ANALYST Jorgensen
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
NMHED
No fiscal
impact
Indeterminate
but minimal
Indeterminate
but minimal
Indeterminate
but minimal
Recurring
Other state
funds
Higher
Education
Institutions
No fiscal
impact
Indeterminate
but minimal
Indeterminate
but minimal
Indeterminate
but minimal
Recurring
Other state
funds
Total
No fiscal
impact
Indeterminate
but minimal
Indeterminate
but minimal
Indeterminate
but minimal
Recurring
Other state
funds
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 69
House Bill 69 (HB69) creates the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Multiplier Act. The act
defines full-time work for adjunct faculty as working 30 hours per week for eight months per
year. The act requires higher education institutions to calculate an instructor’s full-time status by
multiplying the number of credit hours or student contact hours by a minimum of 4.35 so that an
instructor teaching one three-credit-hour course would be credited with 13.05 hours of work for
the purpose of calculating eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
The bill allows the multiplier to be increased through either collective bargaining or institutional
policy and states that if the federal multiplier (currently 3.35) is increased beyond 4.35, the
higher multiplier shall be used. HB69 applies the multiplier beginning October 1, 2007, and
going forward.
House Bill 69 – Page 2
HB69 further requires the Higher Education Department (HED) to create uniform materials to
increase awareness of the program. The materials to be produced include a standard letter
explaining the PSLF to employees, a fact sheet describing the program, and a PSLF frequently-
asked questions form. This information is to be distributed to new employees within 30 days of
their hiring and to all employees on an annual basis.
The effective date of this bill is July 1, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
PSLF is a federal program so changing the multiplier will not have a fiscal impact on the State of
New Mexico. However, HB69 will increase the administrative burden of higher education
institutions. Additionally, HED will be required to produce and distribute informational material
relating to the PSLF program. The extent of the increased workload is unknown and none of the
responding entities provided a cost estimate. Therefore, HB69 is likely to have an indeterminate
but minimal fiscal impact.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
PSLF is a federal program that provides loan forgiveness to full-time employees of government
entities and certain non-profit organizations once the employees have made 120 on-time full
monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan. Government entities include federal, state,
and local governments, including public K-12 schools, public institutions of higher education,
and special districts. Employees are considered to be full-time if they work at least 30 hours per
week. A portion of the form for the program must be completed by the employer to certify
employment. Federal guidelines for the PSLF set a minimum multiplier of 3.35 for each credit
hour delivered and allow for increases for non-classroom instruction such as office hours.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
UNM reports:
This bill would likely result in an increased workload at institutions to develop and
maintain a process for tracking and reporting estimated hours worked for this purpose.
UNM contracts with a third-party provider for employment verifications and PSLF
eligibility certifications. It is not clear whether that service is capable of providing
certifications based on the multiplier contemplated in this bill, which may result in
increased administrative support needed to bring a portion of these verifications back in-
house.
Additionally, New Mexico Tech notes that because bill proposes the institution certify
employment "including hours worked on or after October 1, 2007," it could require the
institution to access historical data and could lead to potential technical issues.
OTHER SUBSTANT IVE ISSUES
The New Mexico Independent Community Colleges notes:
House Bill 69 – Page 3
Page 3, line 17: “hours worked for each hour of credit or classroom contact time….” It is
unclear what standard of time is controlling: credit or contact. Contact time is in general
time the faculty member is scheduled to teach. It can include office hours and other
interactions with students. A credit hour is typically equivalent to 50 – 60 minutes of
instructional time per week for 15 weeks. However, for lab classes a credit hour can be
equivalent to 2 ½ - 3 hours of lab time per week for 15 weeks.
CJ/hj/SL2