FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Angie Poss
505-720-5128
www.nmsenate.com
Combined Lottery Tuition and CYFD Funding Bill Passes Senate
Santa Fe – The Senate unanimously passed a Senate Finance Committee substitute bill that combined Senator Michael Sanchez’ (D, Bernalillo, Valencia, Dist. 29) Senate Bill 392, Lottery Tuition Fund Distributions and Senator John Arthur Smith’s (D, Dona Ana, Hidalgo, Sierra, Luna, Dist. 35) Senate Bill 113, Tobacco Fund for CYFD Programs.
The combined bills will provide funding assistance from the Tobacco Settlement Fund to the Lottery Tuition Fund as well as to Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) for additional early childhood education programs. The tobacco settlement fund is a result of US legal action taken in 1998 against tobacco companies. The fund balance is estimated at $160 million.
The specifics of the potential distribution to the Lottery Scholarship is explained in the bill as “twenty-five percent of the total amount distributed to the tobacco settlement permanent fund in that fiscal year shall be distributed from the tobacco settlement permanent fund to the lottery tuition fund.” This distribution would provide approximately $10 million dollars to the lottery tuition fund each fiscal year.
The lottery tuition fund has been a topic of debate in recent years as money coming into the lottery has remained static while scholarship distributions have been strained by rising tuition costs at universities throughout the state.
“Combining the Lottery bill with the CYFD funding bill was logical and necessary since both bills sought to amend the same section of law,” Senator Sanchez said. “I will continue to work to live up to the promise the legislature made to New Mexico’s high school students in 1996 when the legislative lottery tuition bill was passed and became law.”
The specific early childhood education services that will benefit from the money disbursed to CYFD are reimbursements to licensed child care providers, pre – kindergarten and home visiting programs. The total amount appropriated to CYFD is also approximately $10 million.
The bill will go to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Comments are closed.