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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR SCORC
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/23/08
2/13/08 HB
SHORT TITLE Additional Local Liquor Counties
SB CS/164/aHTRC
ANALYST Francis
REVENUE (dollars in thousands)
Estimated Revenue
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
FY10
$249.0 Recurring
Local
Government
($249.0) Recurring General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Response Received From
NM Association of Counties
Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of HTRC Amendment
The House Taxation and Revenue Committee amended the Senate Corporations and
Transportation Committee substitute for Senate Bill 164 decreasing the monthly distribution to
$20,750. This amendment changes the fiscal impact to $249,000.
Synopsis of SCORC Substitute
The Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee substitute for Senate Bill 164 adds a
distribution of the liquor excise tax revenues to a Class A county with a population of 30,000 to
60,000 according to the most recent decennial census. The distribution is to be used for alcohol
treatment and rehabilitation services for street inebriates. The distribution is a monthly
distribution of $41.5 thousand.
The new distribution is effective for revenue earned on a modified accrual basis from July 1,
2009 forward.
pg_0002
CS/Senate Bill 164/aHTRC – Page
2
Synopsis of Original Bill
Senate Bill 164 amends the local liquor excise tax act [7-24-9 NMSA 1978] to include Class A
counties with greater than 100,000 people and less than 128,000 people as enumerated in the
2000 census and any future census and with a property value between $4 million and $5 million.
The effective date is July 1, 2008.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The general fund will bear the cost of the monthly distribution of $20,750 that will now go to
Farmington. The table below shows the current and new distributions:
Current Distribution SB164/CS/aHTRC
FY10 Projection
45,547,692
45,547,692
DFA - Local DWI Grant Program
2,500,000
2,500,000
Alcohol Detoxification and Treatment
Bernalillo
1,700,000
1,700,000
San Juan
300,000
300,000
Santa Fe
300,000
300,000
Rio Arriba
200,000
200,000
Sandoval
150,000
150,000
Socorro
150,000
150,000
DFA - Interlock Devices
300,000
300,000
Counties by Formula
13,302,292
13,302,292
Farmington
249,000
General Fund
26,645,400
26,396,400
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Only Farmington in San Juan County fits the definition added by this bill. In 2000, the
municipality had 37,844 people and San Juan is one of four Class A Counties.
The NM Association of Counties reports that the DWI funding for local government was
increased significantly last year (House Bill 266 2007 Session). San Juan County should have
gotten an additional $146 thousand from the new distribution.
DFA (analysis from original SB164 but still valid for SCORC substitute):
The level of alcohol and drug abuse is high in San Juan County and current funds may
not be adequate to address these issues. According to TSB data San Juan ranks in the top
5 for fatal and injury DWI crashes in the state. San Juan County currently receives
pg_0003
CS/Senate Bill 164/aHTRC – Page
3
funding to address alcohol and drug prevention. This includes over one million dollars
from LDWI fund, $485,000 in special appropriation for a Meth project plus other local,
state and federal funds.
Studies and research indicate (www.alcoholtaxincrease.org) that raising taxes on the sale
of alcohol decreases alcohol consumption especially among youth. This strategy is sup-
ported by research as one of the most effective means to reduce DWI and alcoholism.
New Mexico has not increased the alcohol excise tax rates since 1993. This proposed
change in law could reduce alcohol use in San Juan County.
The City of Farmington recently passed a resolution to support this legislation. The City
took this action in response to public requests for more services to address DWI and
alcohol and drug abuse in the area.
NF/mt:bb