HOUSE BILL 396
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Joanne J. Ferrary
AN ACT
RELATING TO REGIONAL SPACEPORT DISTRICTS; CHANGING BOARD COMPOSITION; LIMITING THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS UNDER THE SPACEPORT DEVELOPMENT ACT THAT ARE SECURED WITH REVENUE FROM A COUNTY REGIONAL SPACEPORT GROSS RECEIPTS TAX; PROVIDING THAT A COUNTY REGIONAL SPACEPORT GROSS RECEIPTS TAX BE IMPOSED ONLY UNTIL THE BONDS ISSUED ARE FULLY DISCHARGED OR OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR IN FULL; REQUIRING THAT ALL REVENUE FROM A COUNTY REGIONAL SPACEPORT GROSS RECEIPTS TAX BE DEDICATED TO THE PAYMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF AND INTEREST ON BONDS ISSUED UNDER THE SPACEPORT DEVELOPMENT ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 5-16-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2006, Chapter 15, Section 5) is amended to read:
"5-16-5. BOARD.--
A. All powers, privileges and duties vested in or imposed upon the district shall be exercised and performed by the board. The board may delegate its powers by resolution to an officer or agent of the board, with the exception of the following:
(1) adoption of board policies and procedures;
(2) initiation or continuation of legal action;
(3) establishment of policies regarding the use of revenues; and
(4) request to the authority to issue bonds.
B. Only an elected official may vote on resolutions regarding Paragraph (4) of Subsection A of this section.
C. The board shall adopt rules to govern its conduct and provide meaningful opportunities for public input, which shall include standards and procedures for calling emergency meetings.
D. The board shall be composed of at least one director from each governmental unit that is a member of the district. A director shall be an elected official or the official's designee. A governmental unit shall not have a majority of membership on the board, unless there are three or fewer participating governmental units in the district, in which case each governmental unit that is a member shall have one director for every one million dollars ($1,000,000) in gross receipts tax provided in the previous taxable year to the regional spaceport district board pursuant to Section 7-20E-25 NMSA 1978, up to a maximum of four directors from each governmental unit that is a member.
E. A director of the board shall not vote on an issue when the director has a conflict of interest. A director of the board, officer of the board or employee of the board shall not:
(1) acquire a financial interest in a new or existing business venture or business property of any kind when the person believes or has reason to believe that the new financial interest will be directly affected by the official act;
(2) use confidential information acquired by virtue of the person's office or employment for the person's or another's private gain; or
(3) contract with the district without public notice and competitive bidding and full disclosure of the person's financial or other interest in the business that is party to the contract.
F. The attorney general shall investigate and prosecute, when appropriate, a complaint brought to the attorney general's attention involving a violation of Subsection E of this section. Violation of the provisions of Subsection E of this section by a director of the board, officer of the board or employee of the board is grounds for removal or suspension of the director or officer and dismissal, demotion or suspension of the employee.
G. In addition to all other powers conferred by the Regional Spaceport District Act, the board may:
(1) adopt bylaws;
(2) fix the time and place of meetings and the method of providing notice of the meetings;
(3) make and pass orders and resolutions necessary for the government and management of the affairs of the district and the execution of the powers vested in the district;
(4) adopt and use a seal; and
(5) appoint advisory committees and define the duties of the committees."
SECTION 2. Section 5-16-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2006, Chapter 15, Section 7) is amended to read:
"5-16-7. BONDS.--A district may enter into contracts with the authority pursuant to which the authority may issue bonds under the Spaceport Development Act for the purpose of financing the planning, designing, engineering and construction of a regional spaceport [or spaceport-related project]. The district shall request that the authority issue bonds pursuant to resolution of the board, and the bonds shall be payable solely out of all [or a specified portion] of the revenues as designated by the board."
SECTION 3. Section 7-20E-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2006, Chapter 15, Section 15) is amended to read:
"7-20E-25. COUNTY REGIONAL SPACEPORT GROSS RECEIPTS TAX--AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE--RATE--ELECTION REQUIRED.--
A. A majority of the members of the governing body of a county that desires to become a member of a regional spaceport district pursuant to the Regional Spaceport District Act shall impose by ordinance an excise tax at a rate not to exceed one-half percent of the gross receipts of a person engaging in business in the district area of the county for the privilege of engaging in business. A tax imposed pursuant to this section may be imposed by one or more ordinances, each imposing any number of tax rate increments, but an increment shall not be less than one-sixteenth percent of the gross receipts of a person engaging in business in the district area of the county, and the aggregate of all rates shall not exceed one-half percent of the gross receipts of a person engaging in business in the district area of the county. The tax shall be imposed only until the bonds issued pursuant to the Regional Spaceport District Act are fully discharged or otherwise provided for in full. The tax may be referred to as the "county regional spaceport gross receipts tax".
B. A governing body, at the time of enacting an ordinance imposing the tax authorized in Subsection A of this section, shall dedicate [a minimum of seventy-five percent] all of the proceeds of the revenue to the regional spaceport district for payment of the principal and interest of bonds issued under the Spaceport Development Act for the financing, planning, designing and engineering and construction of a spaceport [or for projects or services of the district pursuant to the Regional Spaceport District Act and may dedicate no more than twenty-five percent of the revenue for spaceport-related projects as approved by resolution of the governing body of the county].
C. An ordinance imposing a county regional spaceport gross receipts tax shall not go into effect until after an election is held and a majority of the voters of the district area of the county voting in the election votes in favor of imposing the tax. The governing body shall adopt an ordinance calling for an election within seventy-five days of the date the resolution is adopted on the question of imposing the tax. The question shall be submitted to the voters of the district area of the county as a separate question at a general election or at a special election called for that purpose by the governing body. A special election shall be called, conducted and canvassed substantially in the same manner as provided by law for general elections. If a majority of the voters voting on the question approves the ordinance imposing the county regional spaceport gross receipts tax, the ordinance shall become effective in accordance with the provisions of the County Local Option Gross Receipts and Compensating Taxes Act. If the question of imposing the county regional spaceport gross receipts tax fails, the governing body shall not again propose the imposition of an increment of the tax for a period of one year from the date of the election.
D. The governing body of a county imposing a county regional spaceport gross receipts tax shall transfer [a minimum of seventy-five percent of] all proceeds from the tax to the regional spaceport district of which it is a member for the payment of the principal and interest of bonds issued under the Spaceport Development Act for purposes in accordance with the provisions of the Regional Spaceport District Act. [The governing body of a county imposing a county regional spaceport gross receipts tax may retain no more than twenty-five percent of the county regional spaceport gross receipts tax for spaceport-related projects as approved by the resolution of the governing body of the county.]
E. A county regional spaceport gross receipts tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be repealed and no longer imposed once the bonds to which the tax revenue is dedicated are fully discharged or otherwise provided for in full.
[E.] F. As used in this section, "district area of the county" means that portion of a county that is outside the boundaries of a municipality and that is within the boundaries of a regional spaceport district of which the county is a member; provided that if no municipality within the county has imposed a municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax, "district area of the county" may mean the area within the boundaries of the county that is within the boundaries of a regional spaceport district of which the county is a member."
SECTION 4. Section 58-31-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005, Chapter 128, Section 9) is amended to read:
"58-31-9. AUTHORITY REVENUE BONDS--LIMITATIONS--AUTHORIZATION--AUTHENTICATION.--
A. Revenue bonds or refunding bonds issued pursuant to the Spaceport Development Act and other loans to the authority are:
(1) not general obligations of the state or any other agency of the state or of the authority; and
(2) payable only from properly pledged revenues and each bond or loan shall state that it is payable solely from the properly pledged revenues and that the bondholders or lenders may not look to any other fund for the payment of the [interest and] principal and interest of the bond or the loan.
B. Revenue or refunding bonds or loans may be authorized by resolution of the authority, which shall be approved by a majority of the voting members of the authority and by the state board of finance.
C. The bonds or loans shall be executed by the chair of the authority and may be authenticated by any public or private transfer agent or registrar, or its successor, named or otherwise designated by the authority. Bonds, notes or other certificates of indebtedness of the authority may be executed as provided under the Uniform Facsimile Signature of Public Officials Act, and the coupons, if any, shall bear the facsimile signature of the chair of the authority.
D. Revenue bonds or refunding bonds issued pursuant to the Spaceport Development Act that are secured by revenue from a county regional spaceport gross receipts tax may be issued only for the financing, planning, designing, engineering and construction of a spaceport. The authority shall pledge irrevocably all of the revenue received from the county regional spaceport gross receipts tax to the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds."
SECTION 5. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act apply to county regional spaceport gross receipts taxes imposed and bonds issued under the Spaceport Development Act on or after July 1, 2025.
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