0001| HOUSE BILL 1244 | 0002| 43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| LEO C. WATCHMAN, JR. | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO TAXATION; PROVIDING FOR A LOCAL OPTION COUNTY | 0012| ESSENTIAL SERVICES GROSS RECEIPTS TAX; ENACTING A SECTION OF | 0013| THE COUNTY LOCAL OPTION GROSS RECEIPTS TAXES ACT. | 0014| | 0015| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0016| Section 1. A new section of the County Local Option Gross | 0017| Receipts Taxes Act is enacted to read: | 0018| "[NEW MATERIAL] COUNTY ESSENTIAL SERVICES GROSS RECEIPTS | 0019| TAX--REFERENDUM REQUIRED--RATE OF IMPOSITION--USES.-- | 0020| A. The majority of the members of the governing | 0021| body of a qualifying county may enact an ordinance or | 0022| ordinances imposing an excise tax not to exceed a rate of one | 0023| percent of the gross receipts of any person engaging in | 0024| business in the county for the privilege of engaging in | 0025| business in the county. An ordinance imposing an excise tax | 0001| pursuant to this section shall impose the tax in increments of | 0002| one-fourth of one percent per year until the full amount of the | 0003| tax is imposed. | 0004| B. The tax imposed pursuant to this section is to | 0005| be referred to as the "county essential services gross receipts | 0006| tax". | 0007| C. The governing body of a qualified county shall | 0008| pass a resolution calling for a referendum on the question of | 0009| whether to approve or disapprove the ordinance imposing the | 0010| county essential services gross receipts tax if: | 0011| (1) a petition that requests that a referendum | 0012| be conducted: | 0013| (a) has been signed by five percent of | 0014| the qualified registered voters of the county; and | 0015| (b) is filed with the county clerk | 0016| within thirty days from the date of enactment of the ordinance | 0017| imposing the county essential services gross receipts tax; and | 0018| (2) the signatures on the petition requesting | 0019| a referendum are verified by the county clerk and the petitions | 0020| contain the required number of signatures of qualified | 0021| registered voters. | 0022| D. The referendum shall be held within sixty days | 0023| from the date of when the petition names are verified or in | 0024| conjunction with a general election if that election is held | 0025| within sixty days after the county clerk verifies the petition | 0001| signatures. | 0002| E. The election shall be called, conducted and | 0003| canvassed in substantially the same manner as provided by law | 0004| for general elections. | 0005| F. If a majority of the qualified registered | 0006| electors voting on the question: | 0007| (1) approves the imposition of the county | 0008| essential services gross receipts tax, the ordinance shall go | 0009| into effect on January 1 or July 1 following the referendum, | 0010| whichever comes first, and the first one-fourth of one percent | 0011| of the county essential services gross receipts tax shall be | 0012| imposed; or | 0013| (2) disapproves the imposition of the county | 0014| essential services gross receipts tax, the ordinance shall be | 0015| deemed repealed and the question of imposing a county essential | 0016| services gross receipts tax shall not be considered again by | 0017| the governing body for a period of one year. | 0018| G. Imposition of the subsequent three increments of | 0019| a county essential services gross receipts tax shall not be | 0020| subject to a referendum, but shall occur automatically in each | 0021| subsequent year following the imposition of the first one- | 0022| fourth of one percent. | 0023| H. The county essential services gross receipts tax | 0024| may be used by a county to provide essential governmental | 0025| services, including law enforcement, fire protection, solid | 0001| waste management, water and sewer system expansion and | 0002| maintenance, governmental facility construction, juvenile | 0003| justice facilities or technology equipment for the courts, | 0004| bureau of elections or other governmental service offices. | 0005| I. As used in this section, "qualifying county" | 0006| means a class B county with a population according to the 1990 | 0007| decennial census of greater than sixty thousand but less than | 0008| sixty-two thousand and a net taxable value for rate-setting | 0009| purposes for the 1995 property tax year of greater than five | 0010| hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) but less than five | 0011| hundred fifty-five million dollars ($555,000,000)." | 0012|  |