SENATE BILL 33

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Carlos R. Cisneros

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC MONEY; ENACTING THE CAPITAL OUTLAY PLANNING AND MONITORING ACT; INCREASING FISCAL AND PROGRAMMATIC SCRUTINY OF CAPITAL OUTLAY EXPENDITURES; REQUIRING COMPREHENSIVE FIVE-YEAR PLANS; CREATING THE CAPITAL OUTLAY PLANNING COUNCIL; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

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

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Capital Outlay Planning and Monitoring Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Capital Outlay Planning and Monitoring Act:

          A. "capital project" means a project located in New Mexico that includes the acquisition, repair, alteration, demolition, renovation, construction or reconstruction of a public building or other public works owned by an eligible entity, including planning and design and professional engineering, surveying, architectural and landscape architectural services directly related to the capital project; purchase of rights of way or easements; purchase of land for a public building or other public works; purchase of water rights; site improvements to public property; purchase and installation of equipment of a long-term nature for a public building or other public works; purchase of furniture; purchase of motor vehicles or heavy equipment; and purchase of information technology;

          B. "committee" means the legislative finance committee;

          C. "council" means the capital outlay planning council;

          D. "eligible entity" means the state, a tribe or a political subdivision or agency of the state or a tribe; and

          E. "tribe" means a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo, or a subdivision or an agency of a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo, located wholly or partially within New Mexico.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] CAPITAL OUTLAY PLANNING COUNCIL--CREATED.--

          A. The "capital outlay planning council" is created, consisting of:

                (1) the director of the legislative finance committee or the director's designee, who shall serve as chair;

                (2) director of the legislative council service or the director's designee;

                (3) the secretary of finance and administration; and

                (4) representatives of the following agencies or other entities who have direct responsibility for planning or overseeing capital projects for their agencies or entities:

                     (a) the capitol buildings planning commission;

                     (b) the facilities management division of the general services department;

                     (c) the cultural affairs department;

                     (d) the local government division of the department of finance and administration;

                     (e) the department of environment;

                     (f) the aging and long-term services department;

                     (g) the higher education department;

                     (h) the department of transportation;

                     (i) the Indian affairs department;

                     (j) the public education department;

                     (k) the New Mexico finance authority; and

                     (l) the New Mexico association of regional councils of governments.

          B. The council may invite representatives of federal agencies that provide loans and grants to New Mexico communities for infrastructure and other capital projects to participate in meetings of the council and may invite other participants as it deems necessary.

          C. The committee shall staff the council.

          D. Per diem and mileage or any other compensation, perquisite or allowance shall not be paid to members of the council for service as a member of the council.

          E. The council shall oversee the development of the state capital improvements plan by the committee.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] STATE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN.--

          A. The committee shall, with the assistance of the council, prepare and annually update a five-year "state capital improvements plan" that details the capital projects recommended to be undertaken by eligible entities with state aid or under state regulation. The plan shall:

                (1) include an economic forecast and a discussion of economic activities that bear on the need for state or local infrastructure;

                (2) include a description of outstanding capital projects being funded with state money, their estimated completion date, their initial cost, their estimated completion cost and their estimated operational costs for the first five years;

                (3) classify capital projects with respect to urgency and need for realization and prioritize capital projects that have financial matches from sources other than the state;

                (4) recommend a time sequence for construction or purchase of specific capital projects;

                (5) contain an estimated cost of each capital project, as well as the probable operating and maintenance costs of each capital project;

                (6) identify any revenue that will be generated by a capital project;

                (7) identify existing or additional sources of funds needed for construction and operation of each capital project;

                (8) identify the eligible entity that owns a capital project; and

                (9) provide other information for any capital project or for the state capital improvements plan as determined by the committee.

          B. All capital project recommendations of the executive shall be based on the state capital improvements plan.

          C. Beginning in 2018, the committee shall report to the legislature, including the revenue stabilization and tax policy committee, annually on the status of the state capital improvements plan and modifications made to that plan.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] CAPITAL PROJECT REQUESTS--GUIDELINES--INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLANS--SUBMISSION TO LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE.--

          A. By January 15 of each year, the committee shall publish capital project guidelines to be followed by eligible entities that plan to seek funding for any capital project in the next year's legislative session. The guidelines shall also identify those provisions that a tribe is required to follow in seeking funding for a capital project.

          B. The guidelines shall include provisions to guide state agencies that review capital project requests or infrastructure capital improvements plans from eligible entities. The state capital improvements plan and each local government's infrastructure capital improvements plan shall be updated each year. A tribe is not required to provide infrastructure capital improvements plans to the committee.

          C. The guidelines shall include:

                (1) a requirement that a state agency or a local government requesting state capital outlay funds is not eligible for that funding if it does not have a completed current audit or has not entered into a plan approved by the state auditor for completion of its audit;

                (2) a requirement that a local government be current on its budget and quarterly report submissions to the local government division of the department of finance and administration;

                (3) a requirement for local government infrastructure capital improvements plans to be submitted to appropriate state agencies;

                (4) requirements for analyzing immediate and future needs of the state, regions of the state and localities; and

                (5) requirements for analyzing requests in light of:

                     (a) critical needs of the state and local governments, including health and safety needs;

                     (b) the ability of the local government to provide matching funds for the capital project;

                     (c) the availability of other funding sources for the capital project;

                     (d) the capital project's priority on either the state capital improvements plan or a local government's infrastructure capital improvements plan;

                     (e) the ability to phase the capital project, if necessary, and the availability of funding to complete at least one full, functional capital project phase;

                     (f) the ability of the eligible entity to provide for the operation and maintenance of the capital project;

                     (g) the expected useful life of the capital project;

                     (h) the available alternatives to the capital project as requested;

                     (i) consideration of whether a renovation project will forestall substantial capital outlay costs in the short and long terms;

                     (j) the most appropriate funding sources for types of capital projects; and

                     (k) other considerations determined by the committee, after consultation with the council.

          D. By May 1 of each year, all infrastructure capital improvements plans shall be submitted as follows:

                (1) local government or regional plans that are not otherwise submitted to another state agency are due to the local government division of the department of finance and administration;

                (2) water and wastewater plans are due to the department of environment;

                (3) street, road and highway plans are due to the department of transportation;

                (4) area agency on aging or local aging program plans are due to the aging and long-term services department;

                (5) public post-secondary educational institution, special school and tribal college plans are due to the higher education department;

                (6) state museum, state monument and historic site plans are due to the cultural affairs department;

                (7) state agency plans for state agencies under the jurisdiction of the facilities management division of the general services department are due to the facilities management division;

                (8) state and local government plans that are part of master plans approved by the capitol buildings planning commission are due to the capitol buildings planning commission; and

                (9) capital improvements plans are due to the committee for the New Mexico state fair, state parks division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department, state armory board, tribal infrastructure board, colonias infrastructure board, water trust board, judicial branch and any other capital improvements plans or capital project requests that are not specifically assigned to another state agency.

          E. All state agencies that are responsible for reviewing capital project requests shall submit their recommendations to the committee by August 1 of the year prior to the year in which funding is sought. For local government projects, the recommendations shall include comprehensive analysis of the local government's capacity and effort to fund the requested capital project and its ability to operate the capital project, if applicable.

          F. The committee shall review the recommendations and hold hearings on the recommendations by September 15 of each year. The committee shall report its findings to the governor by October 1 of each year. The committee report shall include proposed changes to the state capital improvements plan and a listing of all capital project requests received, findings of each reviewing agency and findings of the committee.

          G. The committee shall publish the annual state capital improvements plan, an abstract of which shall be included in the executive budget recommendations for the following fiscal year.

          H. The committee shall provide the legislative council service, the revenue stabilization and tax policy committee and the secretary of finance and administration with the annual state capital improvements plan at the time of publication.

     SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] REPORTS.--Every state agency responsible for capital projects shall file electronic quarterly status reports with the committee on appropriations and expenditures.

     SECTION 7. APPROPRIATION.--

          A. One million two hundred thousand dollars ($1,200,000) is appropriated from the general fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2017 in the following amounts to the following agencies for the following purposes:

                (1) one million dollars ($1,000,000) to the legislative finance committee to establish, organize, staff and fund the capital outlay planning council and to carry out the purposes of the Capital Outlay Planning and Monitoring Act; and

                (2) two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) to the office of the state auditor to cover the costs of financial audits or fiscal reviews of local governments that are unable to comply with state audit requirements due to circumstances beyond the control of the local government resulting in lack of funds rendering the local government unable to contract for the conduct of an independent audit or fiscal review.

          B. As used in this section, "circumstances beyond the control of the local government" does not mean poor management or poor planning on behalf of the governing body, intractable political disputes within the governing body that cause a failure to provide funding for audits or fiscal reviews or failure of the governing body to prioritize the need for an audit or fiscal review when planning the local government's budget.

          C. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2017 shall revert to the general fund.

     SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2016.

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