HOUSE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 827

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

AN ACT

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS; PROVIDING A MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE TAX EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN HYBRID VEHICLES THROUGH JUNE 30, 2012.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. Section 7-14-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 73, Section 16, as amended) is amended to read:

     "7-14-6. EXEMPTIONS FROM TAX.--

          A. A person who acquires a vehicle out of state thirty or more days before establishing a domicile in this state is exempt from the tax if the vehicle was acquired for personal use.

          B. A person applying for a certificate of title for a vehicle registered in another state is exempt from the tax if the person has previously registered and titled the vehicle in New Mexico and has owned the vehicle continuously since that time.

          C. A vehicle with a certificate of title owned by this state or any political subdivision is exempt from the tax.

          D. A person is exempt from the tax if the person has a disability at the time the person purchases a vehicle and can prove to the motor vehicle division of the department or its agent that modifications have been made to the vehicle that are:

                (1) due to that person's disability; and

                (2) necessary to enable that person to drive that vehicle or be transported in that vehicle.

          E. A person is exempt from the tax if the person is a bona fide resident of New Mexico who served in the armed forces of the United States and who suffered, while serving in the armed forces or from a service-connected cause, the loss or complete and total loss of use of:

                (1) one or both legs at or above the ankle; or

                (2) one or both arms at or above the wrist.

          F. A person who acquires a vehicle for subsequent lease shall be exempt from the tax if:

                (1) the person does not use the vehicle in any manner other than holding it for lease or sale or leasing or selling it in the ordinary course of business;

                (2) the lease is for a term of more than six months;

                (3) the receipts from the subsequent lease are subject to the gross receipts tax; and

                (4) the vehicle does not have a gross vehicle weight of over twenty-six thousand pounds.

          G. From July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2009, vehicles that are gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles with a United States environmental protection agency fuel economy rating of at least twenty-seven and one-half miles per gallon are eligible for a one-time exemption from the tax at the time of the issuance of the original certificate of title for the vehicle.

          H. From July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2012, vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating between six thousand and ten thousand pounds that draw propulsion energy from onboard sources of stored energy, that are both an internal combustion or heat engine using consumable fuel and a rechargeable energy storage system and that, in the case of a vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight rating of more than six thousand pounds but not more than eight thousand five hundred pounds, has a maximum available power of at least four percent and, in the case of a vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight rating of more than eight thousand five hundred pounds and not more than ten thousand pounds, has a maximum available power of at least ten percent, are eligible for a one-time exemption from the tax at the time of the issuance of the original certificate of title for the vehicle."

     Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2009.

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