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
Sens. Ramos and Brantley/Reps. Terrazas,
Jones, and Dow
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 3
/7/2025
SHORT TITLE Responsible Higher Ed Spending
BILL
NUMBER
House Memorial
33
ANALYST Jorgensen
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 $250.0 No fiscal impact $250.0 Nonrecurring 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 House Memorial 33
House Memorial 33 (HM33) requests the Higher Education Department to conduct a review of
all education expenditures, procurement, and travel policies of all public higher education
institutions.
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 review requested would require a significant investment of time and staff resources for the
Higher Education Department (HED) and may require use of contractors to complete in a timely
manner. There are 27 public higher education institutions and special schools that would be
reviewed by the department. The cost of the review is unknown and the estimated cost is based
on a contract that would likely require two full-time employees to conduct a year long review of
all education spending, procurement, and travel policies.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Review of all educational expenditures, procurement, and travel policies would be resource
intensive. While all institutions are currently required to produce an annual audit as well as
conform to federal financial reporting requirements, these reports may not satisfy the level of House Memorial 33 – Page 2
detail HM33 seems to request.
HM 3 mentions tribally-controlled colleges. HED reports:
HED collaborates with each of these tribal colleges, none of which currently receive state
general fund allocations - outside of the Tribal College Dual Credit Program - for fall
under HED's governance. For example, Navajo Technical University (NTU) is governed
by the Navajo Nation, while both Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) and
the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) operate under federal oversight through the
Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). HED does not manage or monitor these institutions'
procurement or travel policies.
CJ/rl/sgs