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 Sen. Maestas/Rep. Borrego
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/27/2025
SHORT TITLE Public Safety Telecommunications
BILL
NUMBER Senate Bill 50
ANALYST Lobaugh
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
FY25 FY26 Recurring or Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
$0.0 $200.0
Nonrecurring
(Job Task Analysis)
General Fund
$0.0 $400.0
Nonrecurring
(Telecommunicator Training Development)
General Fund
$0.0 $400.0
Nonrecurring
(Officer Training Development)
General Fund
$0.0 $1,000.0
Nonrecurring
(Total)
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
Distribution to NM
State Police
Telecommunicators
$0.0 $68.1 $74.3 $142.4 Recurring
Law
Enforcement
Retention
Fund
Distribution to Other
NM Gov
Telecommunicators
$0.0 $556.7 $665.2 $1,221.9 Recurring
Distribution to
Private
Telecommunicators
$0.0 $1,212.8 $1,435.5 $2,648.3 Recurring
Subtotal $0.0 $1,837.6 $2,175.0 $4,012.6 Recurring
Law Enforcement
Certification Board
Staff
$0.0 $2,711.4 $2,375.4 $5,086.8 Recurring
General Fund
Law Enforcement
Standards and
Training Council
Staff
$0.0 $589.3 $531.8 $1,121.1 Recurring
DPS IT Staff $0.0 $164. 6 $153.1 $317.7 Recurring
Subtotal $0.0 $3,465.3 $3,060.3 $6,525.6 Recurring
Total $0.0 $5,302.9 $5,235.3 $10,538.2 Recurring Both
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Relates to Senate Bill 173
Senate Bill 50 – Page 2
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Department of Public Safety (DPS) Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
Department of Information Technology (DoIT)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate Bill 50
Senate Bill 50 (SB50) amends the state Department of Public Safety Act and the Law
Enforcement Training Act to add telecommunicators (i.e., call dispatchers of police, firefighting,
or emergency medical services) who work at public or private safety agencies to state retention
programs, funding allocations, and certification processes.
SB50 makes telecommunicators at public and private safety agencies eligible for retention
funding from the state law enforcement retention fund. The law enforcement retention fund is a
nonreverting, statutory fund administered by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for the
purpose of providing additional funding to full-time certified law enforcement officers meeting
certain levels of tenure in their jobs.
SB50 expands the authority of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Standards and Training
Council to oversee all police officer and public safety telecommunicator standards, training, and
educational requirements. The bill establishes new training program review cycles, requiring that
continuing education programs are reviewed every two years, and the annual legal update is
reviewed annually. The bill also makes the council responsible for setting standards and
certification requirements for regional satellite training academies in alignment with
accreditation standards. SB50 would make the council more administratively separate from DPS.
Under current law, DPS provides staff support to the council. Under SB50, the council would be
required to hire its own director and support staff to carry out its mission. The bill requires the
council’s director and staff to conduct research and allows the council’s staff to contract with
outside experts. The council’s director and staff are required to have expertise in adult education
and curriculum development and are required to use contracted resources to bring national
expertise to the work of the Council. The bill requires the council to publish its rules in
accordance with the State Rules Act. SB50 also amends the membership requirements of the
council.
SB50 expands the powers and duties of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board.
The bill grants the board the authority to deny admission to a certification program, suspend or
revoke a police officer’s or telecommunicator’s certification (with evidence demonstrating
probable cause of a threat to public safety, imminent harm, or agency liability), and conduct
investigations to determine the fitness of police officers or public safety telecommunicators.
SB50 requires the board to have a chief executive officer and staff that functions with complete
independence from DPS, including independent budget authority. SB50 also amends the
membership requirements of the board.
SB50 requires the basic law enforcement training curriculum to be based on a job task analysis
conducted every five years and a comprehensive set of topics based on evidence- and science- Senate Bill 50 – Page 3
based national best practices.
The bill sets a schedule for the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy to update officer and
public safety telecommunicator training programs with national standards and approval of the
council. SB50 specifies that all curricula approved and in use need to be published on the
academy’s website and not published in the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC).
SB50 would require national accreditation of the academy through the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (a national credentialing authority) by January 1,
2029. The bill would also require the council to determine the most appropriate accreditation
standards for satellite academies. Under SB50, the academy and satellite academies need
accreditation and certification in order to receive funds from the state law enforcement protection
fund. The bill authorizes satellite academies to request up to $300 thousand over three years to
facilitate coming into compliance with additional curricular and accreditation requirements.
SB50 appropriates $1 million on a nonrecurring basis from the general fund to DPS in FY26 for
(1) a job task analysis to modernize public safety telecommunicator training ($200 thousand), (2)
contractor curriculum development and testing to implement public safety telecommuter training
($400 thousand), and (3) contractor curriculum development for new in-service training for all
police officers ($400 thousand). Any unexpended or unencumbered balances remaining at the
end of FY26 shall not revert to the general fund.
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
SB50 appropriates $1 million on a nonrecurring basis from the general fund to DPS in FY26 for
(1) a job task analysis to modernize public safety telecommunicator training ($200 thousand), (2)
contractor curriculum development and testing to implement public safety telecommuter training
($400 thousand), and (3) contractor curriculum development for new in-service training for all
police officers ($400 thousand). Any unexpended or unencumbered balances remaining at the
end of FY26 shall not revert to the general fund.
DPS estimates that SB50 would make 2,479 full-time employee (FTE) telecommunicators in
New Mexico eligible for funds from the state law enforcement retention fund, costing $1.8
million in FY26 and $2.2 million in FY27. Specifically, DPS reports 70 FTE telecommunicators
at New Mexico State Police would be eligible, 773 FTE telecommunicators in other government
entities would be eligible, and 1,636 telecommunicators from private sector entities would be
eligible. DPS estimates the private sector telecommunicator cost based on data from ZIPPIA.com
reporting that 66 percent of public safety dispatchers in the United States work in the private
sector.
1
1
DPS included an additional $10 million in their annual cost estimate of SB50 under the assumption that all
employees of public and private safety agencies could be eligible for funding from the law enforcement retention
fund. SB50 limits eligibility for the law enforcement retention fund to full-time certified police officers and
telecommunicators. Consequently, LFC staff did not include the additional $10 million annual cost estimate in this
fiscal impact report. Senate Bill 50 – Page 4
SB50 would require the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board to operate
independently of DPS, assume expanded responsibilities, and hire additional staff. DPS estimates
the board would need 12 FTE, including a chief executive officer, a chief financial officer, an
attorney, an investigator, a data analyst, a compliance officer, and administrative services staff.
The additional operational cost for these positions from the general fund based on State
Personnel Office classifications is $2.7 million in FY26 and $2.3 million in FY27.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
DPS reports that making public safety agencies eligible for law enforcement retention funds
could incentivize private sector telecommunicators to stay with private sector safety agencies,
which may impact recruitment for public sector telecommunicator positions.
DPS reports that making private sector employees eligible for the law enforcement retention
fund could negatively impact the fund’s balance. The law enforcement retention fund had a cash
balance of $1.4 million as of January 2025.
The Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) points out that under SB50 law
enforcement representation would fall below 50 percent on the Law Enforcement Standards and
Training Council, which is responsible for overseeing the training and standards of law
enforcement.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
SB50 relates to Senate Bill 173, which would include public safety telecommunicators under the
same public employee retirement association benefits as first responders.
CSL/hg/sgs