2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 4 - Counties › Article 59 - County Industrial Revenue Bonds › Section 4-59-4 - Additional powers conferred on counties.

In addition to any other powers that it may now have, each county shall have the following powers:
A. to acquire, whether by construction, purchase, gift or lease, one or more projects, which shall be located within this state and shall be located within the county outside the boundaries of any incorporated municipality; provided, however, that:
(1) a class A county with a population of more than three hundred thousand may acquire projects located anywhere in the county; and
(2) a county shall not acquire any electricity generation or transmission facility project unless the school districts within the county in which the project is located receive annual in-lieu tax payments; provided that the annual in-lieu tax payments required by this paragraph shall be:
(a) payable to the school districts for the period the county owns and leases the project;
(b) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount received by the county multiplied by the percentage determined by dividing the average of all of the mills imposed by the school districts in the county, including the operating, capital improvement, building improvement, education technology and bond mills imposed by the school districts in the county plus state debt service mills as of the date of issuance of the bonds by the average of the mills imposed by all entities levying taxes on property in the county as of such date;
(c) divided among the school districts located within the county, and if there is more than one school district in such county, the in-lieu payment shall be allocated as follows: 1) fifty percent allocated equally among all school districts in which the project is located; 2) forty percent allocated to the school districts within the county in proportion to the area of each school district within the county; and 3) ten percent allocated to the school districts in proportion to the average of each school district's student membership pursuant to the Public School Code [Chapter 22 NMSA 1978, except Article 5A] reported on the second and third reporting dates for the most recent school year for which data is available as of the date of issuance of the bonds; and
(d) for each individual school district located within the county, no less than the amount due to the school district in the tax year immediately preceding the issuance of the bonds from the property included in a project, had such project not been created;
B. to sell or lease or otherwise dispose of any or all of its projects upon such terms and conditions as the commission may deem advisable and as shall not conflict with the provisions of the County Industrial Revenue Bond Act [Chapter 4, Article 59 NMSA 1978]; and
C. to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of defraying the cost of acquiring, by construction and purchase or either, any project and to secure the payment of such bonds, all as provided in the County Industrial Revenue Bond Act. No county shall have the power to operate any project as a business or in any manner except as lessor thereof.
History:
1953 Comp., § 15-60-4, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 286, § 4; 1979, ch. 389, § 2; 1997, ch. 216, § 5; 1997, ch. 226, § 5; 2001, ch. 284, § 2; 2003, ch. 221, § 3; 2020, ch. 14, § 5; 2021, ch. 91, § 3; 2023, ch. 180, § 2.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For requirements respecting leases,
see
4-59-7 NMSA 1978.
For refunding bonds,
see
4-59-8 NMSA 1978.
For use of proceeds of bonds,
see
4-59-9 NMSA 1978.
For finances of counties, municipalities and school districts generally,
see
6-6-7 NMSA 1978 et seq.
For the Border Development Act,
see
58-27-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
The 2023 amendment,
effective April 5, 2023, modified the formula for distributions of payments-in-lieu of taxes to school districts; and in Subsection A, Subparagraph A(2)(b), after "dividing the average of", added "all of the mills imposed by the school districts in the county, including", after "capital improvement", added "building improvement, education technology", and after "imposed by the school districts in the county", deleted "and" and added "plus", in Subparagraph A(2)(c), deleted "shared" and added "divided", after "school districts located within the county", deleted "equally", and after the next occurrence of "and", added "if there is more than one school district in such county, the in-lieu payment shall be allocated as follows: 1) fifty percent allocated equally among all school districts in which the project is located; 2) forty percent allocated to the school districts within the county in proportion to the area of each school district within the county; and 3) ten percent allocated to the school districts in proportion to the average of each school district's student membership pursuant to the Public School Code reported on the second and third reporting dates for the most recent school year for which data is available as of the date of issuance of the bonds; and", and in Subparagraph A(2)(d), deleted "not be" and added "for each individual school district located within the county, no".
The 2021 amendment,
effective June 18, 2021, changed the method for determining an annual in-lieu tax payment for an electric generation or transmission facility project, and provided for the sharing of in-lieu tax payments among certain school districts; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(2), after "unless the school", deleted "district in which the project is located will receive the same amount, or greater, of annual in-lieu tax payments as would have been received in property taxes for the fully developed project had the project not been acquired" and added "districts within the county in which the project is located receive annual in-lieu tax payments; provided that the annual in-lieu tax payments required by this paragraph shall be", and added Subparagraphs A(2)(a) through A(2)(d).
The 2020 amendment,
effective July 1, 2020, prohibited counties from acquiring electricity generation or transmission facility projects unless the school district in which the project is located will receive the same amount, or greater, of annual in-lieu tax payments as would have been received in property taxes had the project not been acquired; and in Subsection A, Paragraph A(2), after "generation", added "or transmission", and deleted "the acquisition is approved by the local school board of the school district in which a project is located and the board of county commissioners, the local school board and the person proposing the project negotiate and determine the amount of an annual in-lieu tax payment to be made to the school district by the person proposing the project, for the period that the county owns and leases the project, and provided such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld" and added "the school district in which the project is located will receive the same amount, or greater, of annual in-lieu tax payments as would have been received in property taxes for the fully developed project had the project not been acquired".
The 2003 amendment,
effective June 20, 2003, substituted "however, that:" for "the" at the end of Subsection A; added Subsection A(1) and added designation Subsection A(2).
The 2001 amendment,
effective June 15, 2001, added the language beginning "provided, the county shall not acquire" in Subsection A.
The 1997 amendment,
effective June 20, 1997, deleted "provided, however, any project located within fifteen miles of a municipality shall be subject to prior approval of the governing body of the largest municipality within the same county and within the fifteen mile zone" from the end of Subsection A and substituted "as provided in the County Industrial Revenue Bond Act" for "as hereinafter provided" at the end of the first sentence in Subsection C.