AN ACT
RELATING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO
OFFER HEALTH INSURANCE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR INDUSTRIAL REVENUE BONDS OR IN-PLANT
TRAINING FUNDS; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 3-32-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1965,
Chapter 300, Section 14-31-4, as amended) is amended to read:
"3-32-7. BONDS ISSUED TO FINANCE PROJECTS.--
A. Bonds issued by a municipality under
authority of the Industrial Revenue Bond Act shall not be the general obligation
of the municipality within the meaning of Article 9, Sections 12 and 13 of the
constitution of New Mexico. The bonds
shall be payable solely out of the revenue derived from the projects for which
the bonds are issued. Bonds and interest
coupons, if any, issued under authority of the Industrial Revenue Bond Act
shall never constitute an indebtedness of the municipality within the meaning
of any state constitutional provision or statutory limitation and shall never
constitute or give rise to a pecuniary liability of the municipality or a
charge against its general credit or taxing powers, and such fact shall be
plainly stated on the face of each bond.
B. The bonds may be executed and delivered at
any time, and from time to time, may be in such form and denominations, may be
of such tenor, may be in registered or bearer form either as to principal or
interest or both, may be payable in such installments and at such time or times
not exceeding thirty years from their date, may be payable at such place or
places, may bear interest at such rate or rates payable at such place or places
and evidenced in such manner and may contain such provisions not inconsistent
with the Industrial Revenue Bond Act, all as shall be provided in the ordinance
and proceedings of the governing body under which the bonds are authorized to
be issued.
C. Bonds issued under the authority of the
Industrial Revenue Bond Act may be sold at public or private sale in such
manner and from time to time as may be determined by the governing body to be
most advantageous, and the municipality may pay all expenses, attorney,
engineering and architects' fees, premiums and commissions that the governing
body may deem necessary or advantageous in connection with the authorization,
sale and issuance of the bonds.
D. Bonds issued under the authority of the
Industrial Revenue Bond Act and all interest coupons applicable thereto, if
any, shall be construed to be negotiable.
E. A bond shall not be issued by a municipality
having a population of more than forty thousand according to the most recent
decennial census to finance a project that is valued at eight million dollars ($8,000,000)
or more unless an employer of the project:
(1) offers to its employees and their dependents
health insurance coverage that is in compliance with the New Mexico Insurance
Code or a comparable health benefits plan pursuant to the federal Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; and
(2) contributes not less than
fifty percent of the premium for the health care coverage for those employees
who choose to enroll; provided that the fifty percent employer contribution
shall not be a requirement for the dependent coverage that is offered."
Section 2. Section 4-59-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975,
Chapter 286, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"4-59-5. BONDS ISSUED TO FINANCE PROJECTS.--
A. Bonds issued by a county under authority of
the County Industrial Revenue Bond Act shall not be the general obligation of
the county within the meaning of Article 9, Sections 10 and 13 of the
constitution of New Mexico. The bonds
shall be payable solely out of the revenue derived from the projects for which
the bonds are issued. Bonds and interest
coupons, if any, issued under authority of the County Industrial Revenue Bond
Act shall never constitute an indebtedness of the county within the meaning of
any state constitutional provision or statutory limitation and shall never
constitute or give rise to a pecuniary liability of the county or a charge
against its general credit or taxing powers, and such fact shall be plainly
stated on the face of each bond.
B. The bonds may be executed and delivered at
any time, and from time to time, may be in such form and denominations, may be
of such tenor, may be in registered or bearer form either as to principal or
interest or both, may be payable in such installments and at such time or times
not exceeding thirty years from their date, may be payable at such place or
places, may bear interest at such rate payable at such place or places and
evidenced in such manner and may contain such provisions not inconsistent with
this section, all as shall be provided in the ordinance and proceedings of the
commission under which the bonds shall be authorized to be issued.
C. The bonds issued under the authority of the
County Industrial Revenue Bond Act may be sold at public or private sale in
such manner and from time to time as may be determined by the commission to be
most advantageous, and the county may pay all expenses, attorney, engineering
and architects' fees, premiums and commissions that the commission may deem
necessary or advantageous in connection with the authorization, sale and
issuance of the bonds.
D. The bonds issued under the authority of the
County Industrial Revenue Bond Act and all applicable interest coupons shall be
construed to be negotiable.
E. A bond shall not be issued by a class A
county to finance a project unless an employer of the project that is valued at
eight million dollars ($8,000,000) or more:
(1) offers to its employees and their dependents
health insurance coverage that is in compliance with the New Mexico Insurance
Code; and
(2) contributes not less than fifty percent of
the premium for the health insurance for those employees who choose to enroll;
provided that the fifty percent employer contribution shall not be a
requirement for the dependent coverage that is offered."
Section 3. Section 21-19-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983,
Chapter 299, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-19-7. DEVELOPMENT TRAINING.--
A. The economic development department shall
establish a development training program that provides
quick-response classroom and in-plant training to furnish
qualified manpower resources for new or expanding industries and non-retail
service sector businesses in New Mexico that have business or production
procedures that require skills unique to those industries. Training shall be custom designed for, and
based on the special requirements of, each company. The program shall be operated on a statewide
basis and shall be designed to assist any area in becoming more competitive
economically.
B. There is created the "industrial
training board" composed of:
(1) the director of the economic development
division of the economic development department;
(2) the director of the vocational education
division of the state department of public education;
(3) the director of the job training division of
the labor department;
(4) the executive director of the commission on
higher education;
(5) one member from organized labor appointed by
the governor; and
(6) one public member from the business community
appointed by the governor.
C. The industrial training board shall establish
policies and promulgate rules for the administration of appropriated funds and
shall provide review and oversight to assure that funds expended from the
development training fund will generate business activity and give measurable
growth to the economic base of New Mexico within the legal limits preserving
the ecological state of New Mexico and its people.
D. Subject to the approval of the industrial
training board, the economic development division of the economic development
department shall:
(1) administer all funds allocated or
appropriated for industrial development training purposes;
(2) provide designated training services;
(3) regulate, control and abandon any training
program established under the provisions of this section;
(4) assist companies requesting training in the
development of a training proposal to meet the companies' manpower needs;
(5) contract for the implementation of all
training programs;
(6) provide for training by educational
institutions or by a company through in-plant training, at that company's
request; and
(7) evaluate training efforts on a basis of
performance standards set forth by the industrial training board.
E. The vocational education division of the
state department of public education shall provide technical assistance to the
economic development department concerning the development of agreements, the
determination of the most appropriate instructional training to be provided and
the review of training program implementation.
F. The state shall contract with a company or an
educational institution to provide training or instructional services in
accordance with the approved training proposal and within the following
limitations:
(1) payment shall not be made for training in
excess of one thousand forty hours of training per trainee for the total
duration of training;
(2) training applicants shall have resided within
the state for a minimum of one year immediately prior to the commencement of
the training program and be of legal status for employment; provided, however,
that prior to July 1, 2004, the residency requirements may be waived in part
for projects within New Mexico communities located within fifty miles of the
state border if the project meets the following criteria:
(a) the project will employ more than one
thousand five hundred employees;
(b) the resident labor force within a fifty-mile
radius of the project location is not sufficient to fill the full-time-equivalent
position requirements of the project as determined by the labor department;
(c) preference for training shall be given to New
Mexico residents; and
(d) no less than fifty percent of the project's
work force shall be residents of New Mexico;
(3) payment for institutional classroom training
shall be made pursuant to any accepted training contract for a qualified
training program;
(4) payment shall not be made pursuant to any
accepted training contract for rental of facilities unless facilities are not
available on site or at the educational institution;
(5) all applicants shall be eligible under the
federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, and shall not have
terminated a public school program within the past three months except by
graduation;
(6) trainees shall be guaranteed full-time
employment with the contracted company upon successful completion of the
training;
(7) persons employed to provide the instructional
services shall be exempt from the minimum requirements established in the state
plan for other state vocational programs;
(8) payment shall not be made for training
programs or production of Indian jewelry or imitation Indian jewelry unless a
majority of those involved in the training program or production are of Indian
descent; and
(9) if a company hires twenty
or more trainees, payment shall not be made for training in a municipality
having a population of more than forty thousand according to the most recent
decennial census or a class A county unless the company:
(a) offers its employees and their dependents
health insurance coverage that is in compliance with the New Mexico Insurance
Code; and
(b) contributes not less than fifty percent of
the premium for the health insurance for those employees who choose to enroll;
provided that the fifty percent employer contribution shall not be a
requirement for the dependent coverage that is offered."
Section 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is January 1, 2004.