Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports
if they are used for other purposes.
Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).
Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and
attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Payne
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/2/08
HB
SHORT TITLE Head of Family Property Tax Exemption, CA
SJR 11
ANALYST Francis
REVENUE (dollars in thousands)
Estimated Revenue
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
FY10
*See Narrative
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
Relates to several bills – See table below
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Joint Resolution 11 proposes to amend the NM Constitution to change the amount of
property value exempted for heads of family from $2,000 to $20,000. All changes to the consti-
tution including SJR11 must be submitted to the people for a vote at the next general election.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The intent of SJR11 is to give families relief on their property taxes by significantly increasing
the head of household exemption to $20,000. 258,792 taxpayers qualified for the exemption in
2005 for a total exemption of $517.6 million. The need to maintain a level of funding for debt
service and operational income, particularly for counties, means that rates will adjust upwards
for all taxpayers. Lowering the valuation of property also affects the amount available for capital
outlay for the state and local governments including school districts.
A taxpayer who qualifies for the head of family exemption would, outside of any upward rate
revision, see a reduced tax bill of approximately $170 annually.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
County government and school districts rely primarily on property tax revenues for operations
and general obligation capital funding.