Committee Substitute for SB0237CTS

SENATE CORPORATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE CONSERVATION COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL 237

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

AN ACT

RELATING TO TAXATION; PROVIDING INCOME TAX CREDITS FOR INTERESTS IN GEOTHERMAL, SOLAR THERMAL, SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC AND COAL-BASED ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITIES; CREATING THE ADVANCED ENERGY TAX CREDITS FOR PERSONS WITH LEASEHOLD OR PARTIAL INTERESTS IN CERTAIN ADVANCED ENERGY GENERATING FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. A new section of the Income Tax Act is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] ADVANCED ENERGY INCOME TAX CREDIT.--

A. The tax credit that may be claimed pursuant to this section may be referred to as the "advanced energy income tax credit".

B. A taxpayer who holds an interest in a qualified generating facility located in New Mexico and who files an individual New Mexico income tax return may claim an advanced energy income tax credit in an amount equal to six percent of the eligible generation plant costs of a qualified generating facility, subject to the limitations imposed in this section. The tax credit claimed shall be verified and approved by the department.

C. An entity that holds an interest in a qualified generating facility may request a certificate of eligibility from the department of environment to enable the requester to apply for an advanced energy income tax credit. The department of environment:

(1) shall determine if the facility is a qualified generating facility;

(2) shall require that the requester provide the department of environment with the information necessary to assess whether the requester's facility meets the criteria to be a qualified generating facility;

(3) shall issue a certificate to the requester stating that the facility is or is not a qualified generating facility within one hundred eighty days after receiving all information necessary to make a determination;

(4) shall:

(a) issue a schedule of fees in which no fee exceeds one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000); and

(b) deposit fees collected pursuant to this paragraph in the state air quality permit fund created pursuant to Section 74-2-15 NMSA 1978; and

(5) shall report annually to the appropriate interim legislative committee information that will allow the legislative committee to analyze the effectiveness of the advanced energy tax credits, including the identity of qualified generating facilities, the energy production means used, the amount of emissions identified in this section reduced and removed by those qualified generating facilities and whether any requests for certificates of eligibility could not be approved due to program limits.

D. A taxpayer who holds an interest in a qualified generating facility may be allocated the right to claim the advanced energy income tax credit without regard to the taxpayer's relative interest in the qualified generating facility if:

(1) the business entity making the allocation provides notice of the allocation and the taxpayer's interest in the qualified generating facility to the department on forms prescribed by the department;

(2) allocations to the taxpayer and all other taxpayers allocated a right to claim the advanced energy tax credit shall not exceed one hundred percent of the advanced energy tax credit allowed for the qualified generating facility; and

(3) the taxpayer and all other taxpayers allocated a right to claim the advanced energy tax credits collectively own at least a five percent interest in the qualified generating facility.

E. To claim the advanced energy income tax credit, a taxpayer shall submit with the taxpayer's New Mexico income tax return a certificate of eligibility from the department of environment stating that the taxpayer may be eligible for advanced energy tax credits. The taxation and revenue department shall provide credit claims forms. A credit claim form shall accompany any return in which the taxpayer wishes to apply for an approved credit, and the claim shall specify the amount of credit intended to apply to each return. The taxation and revenue department shall determine the amount of advanced energy income tax credit for which the taxpayer may apply.

F. Upon receipt of the notice of an allocation of the right to claim all or a portion of the advanced energy income tax credit, the department shall verify the allocation due to the recipient.

G. A husband and wife who file separate returns for a taxable year in which they could have filed a joint return may each claim only one-half of the advanced energy income tax credit that would have been allowed on a joint return.

H. The total amount of all advanced energy tax credits claimed shall not exceed the total amount determined by the department to be allowable pursuant to this section, the Corporate Income and Franchise Tax Act and Section 7-9G-2 NMSA 1978.

I. Any balance of the advanced energy income tax credit that the taxpayer is approved to claim may be claimed by the taxpayer as an advanced energy combined reporting tax credit allowed pursuant to Section 7-9G-2 NMSA 1978. If the advanced energy income tax credit exceeds the amount of the taxpayer's tax liabilities pursuant to the Income Tax Act and Section 7-9G-2 NMSA 1978 in the taxable year in which it is claimed, the balance of the unpaid credit may be carried forward for ten years and claimed as an advanced energy income tax credit or an advanced energy combined reporting tax credit. The advanced energy income tax credit is not refundable.

J. A taxpayer claiming the advanced energy income tax credit pursuant to this section is ineligible for credits pursuant to the Investment Credit Act or any other credit that may be taken pursuant to the Income Tax Act or credits that may be taken against the gross receipts tax, compensating tax or withholding tax for the same expenditures.

K. The aggregate amount of all advanced energy tax credits that may be claimed with respect to a qualified generating facility shall not exceed sixty million dollars ($60,000,000).

L. As used in this section:

(1) "advanced energy tax credit" means the advanced energy income tax credit, the advanced energy corporate income tax credit and the advanced energy combined reporting tax credit;

(2) "coal-based electric generating facility" means a new or repowered generating facility and an associated coal gasification facility, if any, that uses coal to generate electricity and that meets the following specifications:

(a) emits the lesser of: 1) what is achievable with the best available control technology; or 2) thirty-five thousandths pound per million British thermal units of sulfur dioxide, twenty-five thousandths pound per million British thermal units of oxides of nitrogen and one hundredth pound per million British thermal units of total particulates in the flue gas;

(b) removes the greater of: 1) what is achievable with the best available control technology; or 2) ninety percent of the mercury from the input fuel;

(d) all infrastructure required for sequestration is in place by the later of January 1, 2017 or eighteen months after the commercial operation date of the coal-based electric generating facility;

(e) includes methods and procedures to monitor the disposition of the carbon dioxide captured and sequestered from the coal-based electric generating facility; and

(f) does not exceed a name-plate capacity of seven hundred net megawatts;

(3) "eligible generation plant costs" means expenditures for the development and construction of a qualified generating facility, including permitting; site characterization and assessment; engineering; design; carbon dioxide capture, treatment, compression, transportation and sequestration; site and equipment acquisition; and fuel supply development used directly and exclusively in a qualified generating facility;

(4) "entity" means an individual, estate, trust, receiver, cooperative association, club, corporation, company, firm, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, joint venture, syndicate or other association or a gas, water or electric utility owned or operated by a county or municipality;

(5) "geothermal electric generating facility" means a facility with a name-plate capacity of one megawatt or more that uses geothermal energy to generate electricity, including a facility that captures and provides geothermal energy to a preexisting electric generating facility using other fuels in part;

(6) "interest in a qualified generating facility" means title to a qualified generating facility; a leasehold interest in a qualified generating facility; an ownership interest in a business or entity that is taxed for federal income tax purposes as a partnership that holds title to or a leasehold interest in a qualified generating facility; or an ownership interest, through one or more intermediate entities that are each taxed for federal income tax purposes as a partnership, in a business that holds title to or a leasehold interest in a qualified generating facility;

(7) "name-plate capacity" means the maximum rated output of the facility measured as alternating current or the equivalent direct current measurement;

(8) "qualified generating facility" means a facility that begins construction not later than December 31, 2015 and is:

(a) a solar thermal electric generating facility that begins construction on or after July 1, 2007 and that may include an associated renewable energy storage facility;

(b) a solar photovoltaic electric generating facility that begins construction on or after July 1, 2009 and that may include an associated renewable energy storage facility;

(d) a recycled energy project if that facility begins construction on or after July 1, 2007; or

(e) a new or repowered coal-based electric generating facility and an associated coal gasification facility;

(9) "recycled energy" means energy produced by a generation unit with a name-plate capacity of not more than fifteen megawatts that converts the otherwise lost energy from the exhaust stacks or pipes to electricity without combustion of additional fossil fuel; (10) "sequester" means to store, or chemically convert, carbon dioxide in a manner that prevents its release into the atmosphere and may include the use of geologic formations and enhanced oil, coalbed methane or natural gas recovery techniques;

(11) "solar photovoltaic electric generating facility" means an electric generating facility with a name-plate capacity of one megawatt or more that uses solar photovoltaic energy to generate electricity; and

(12) "solar thermal generating facility" means an electric generating facility with a name-plate capacity of one megawatt or more that uses solar thermal energy to generate electricity, including a facility that captures and provides solar energy to a preexisting electric generating facility using other fuels in part."

Section 2. A new section of the Corporate Income and Franchise Tax Act is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] ADVANCED ENERGY CORPORATE INCOME TAX CREDIT.--

A. The tax credit that may be claimed pursuant to this section may be referred to as the "advanced energy corporate income tax credit".

B. A taxpayer that holds an interest in a qualified generating facility located in New Mexico and that files a New Mexico corporate income tax return may claim an advanced energy corporate income tax credit in an amount equal to six percent of the eligible generation plant costs of a qualified generating facility, subject to the limitations imposed in this section. The tax credit claimed shall be verified and approved by the department.

(1) shall determine if the facility is a qualified generating facility;

(4) shall:

(a) issue a schedule of fees in which no fee exceeds one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000); and

(b) deposit fees collected pursuant to this paragraph in the state air quality permit fund created pursuant to Section 74-2-15 NMSA 1978; and

D. A taxpayer that holds an interest in a qualified generating facility may be allocated the right to claim the advanced energy corporate income tax credit without regard to the taxpayer's relative interest in the qualified generating facility if:

(3) the taxpayer and all other taxpayers allocated a right to claim the advanced energy tax credits collectively own at least a five percent interest in the qualified generating facility.

E. Upon receipt of the notice of an allocation of the right to claim all or a portion of the advanced energy corporate income tax credit, the department shall verify the allocation due to the recipient.

F. To claim the advanced energy corporate income tax credit, a taxpayer shall submit with the taxpayer's New Mexico corporate income tax return a certificate of eligibility from the department of environment stating that the taxpayer may be eligible for advanced energy tax credits. The taxation and revenue department shall provide credit claim forms. A credit claim form shall accompany any return in which the taxpayer wishes to apply for an approved credit, and the claim shall specify the amount of credit intended to apply to each return. The taxation and revenue department shall determine the amount of advanced energy corporate income tax credit for which the taxpayer may apply.

G. The total amount of all advanced energy tax credits claimed shall not exceed the total amount determined by the department to be allowable pursuant to this section, the Income Tax Act and Section 7-9G-2 NMSA 1978.

H. Any balance of the advanced energy corporate income tax credit that the taxpayer is approved to claim may be claimed by the taxpayer as an advanced energy combined reporting tax credit allowed pursuant to Section 7-9G-2 NMSA 1978. If the advanced energy corporate income tax credit exceeds the amount of the taxpayer's tax liabilities pursuant to the Corporate Income and Franchise Tax Act and Section 7-9G-2 NMSA 1978 in the taxable year in which it is claimed, the balance of the unpaid credit may be carried forward for ten years and claimed as an advanced energy corporate income tax credit or an advanced energy combined reporting tax credit. The advanced energy corporate income tax credit is not refundable.

I. A taxpayer claiming the advanced energy corporate income tax credit pursuant to this section is ineligible for credits pursuant to the Investment Credit Act or any other credit that may be taken pursuant to the Corporate Income and Franchise Tax Act or credits that may be taken against the gross receipts tax, compensating tax or withholding tax for the same expenditures.

J. The aggregate amount of all advanced energy tax credits that may be claimed with respect to a qualified generating facility shall not exceed sixty million dollars ($60,000,000).

K. As used in this section:

(1) "advanced energy tax credit" means the advanced energy income tax credit, the advanced energy corporate income tax credit and the advanced energy combined reporting tax credit;

(b) removes the greater of: 1) what is achievable with the best available control technology; or 2) ninety percent of the mercury from the input fuel;

(c) captures and sequesters or controls carbon dioxide emissions so that by the later of January 1, 2017 or eighteen months after the commercial operation date of the coal-based electric generating facility, no more than one thousand one hundred pounds per megawatt-hour of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere; (d) all infrastructure required for sequestration is in place by the later of January 1, 2017 or eighteen months after the commercial operation date of the coal-based electric generating facility;