HOUSE BILL 326

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Ray Begaye

AN ACT

RELATING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; INCREASING THE TYPES OF BUSINESSES THAT ARE QUALIFIED ENTITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT; REMOVING THE PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC SUPPORT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN RURAL AREAS INVOLVING RETAIL SALES.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 5-10-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 297, Section 1) is amended to read:

     "5-10-1. SHORT TITLE.--[This act] Chapter 5, Article 10 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Local Economic Development Act"."

     SECTION 2. Section 5-10-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 297, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

     "5-10-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Local Economic Development Act:

          A. "arts and cultural district" means a developed district of public and private uses that is created pursuant to the Arts and Cultural District Act;

          B. "cultural facility" means a facility that is owned by the state, a county, a municipality or a qualifying entity that serves the public through preserving, educating and promoting the arts and culture of a particular locale, including theaters, museums, libraries, galleries, cultural compounds, educational organizations, performing arts venues and organizations, fine arts organizations, studios and media laboratories and live-work housing facilities;

          C. "department" means the economic development department;

          D. "economic development project" or "project" means the provision of direct or indirect assistance to a qualifying entity by a local or regional government and includes the purchase, lease, grant, construction, reconstruction, improvement or other acquisition or conveyance of land, buildings or other infrastructure; public works improvements essential to the location or expansion of a qualifying entity; payments for professional services contracts necessary for local or regional governments to implement a plan or project; the provision of direct loans or grants for land, buildings or infrastructure; technical assistance to cultural facilities; loan guarantees securing the cost of land, buildings or infrastructure in an amount not to exceed the revenue that may be derived from the municipal infrastructure gross receipts tax or the county infrastructure gross receipts tax; grants for public works infrastructure improvements essential to the location or expansion of a qualifying entity; grants or subsidies to cultural facilities; purchase of land for a publicly held industrial park or a publicly owned cultural facility; and the construction of a building for use by a qualifying entity;

          E. "governing body" means the city council, city commission or board of trustees of a municipality or the board of county commissioners of a county;

          F. "local government" means a municipality or county;

          G. "municipality" means an incorporated city, town or village;

          H. "person" means an individual, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity;

          I. "qualifying entity" means a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, association or other person that is one or a combination of two or more of the following:

                (1) an industry for the manufacturing, processing or assembling of agricultural or manufactured products;

                (2) a commercial enterprise for storing, warehousing, distributing or selling products of agriculture, mining or industry, but, other than as provided in Paragraph (5), [or] (6) or (9) of this subsection, not including any enterprise for sale of goods or commodities at retail or for distribution to the public of electricity, gas, water or telephone or other services commonly classified as public utilities;

                (3) a business in which all or part of the activities of the business involves the supplying of services to the general public or to governmental agencies or to a specific industry or customer, but, other than as provided in Paragraph (5) or (9) of this subsection, not including businesses primarily engaged in the sale of goods or commodities at retail;

                (4) an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or a federally chartered tribal corporation;

                (5) a telecommunications sales enterprise that makes the majority of its sales to persons outside New Mexico;

                (6) a facility for the direct sales by growers of agricultural products, commonly known as farmers' markets;

                (7) a business that is the developer of a metropolitan redevelopment project; [and]

                (8) a cultural facility; and

                (9) a business located in a rural area that is primarily engaged in the sale of food or commodities at retail. For the purpose of this paragraph:

                     (a) "business" means an establishment that sells food for home preparation and consumption and that meets the definition of retail food store in 7 USCA 2012(k)(1) for purposes of the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program, whether or not the establishment participates in the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program;

                     (b) "food" means any food or food product for home consumption that meets the definition of food in 7 USCA 2012(g)(1) for purposes of the federal food supplemental nutrition assistance program; and

                     (c) "rural" means an area or location identified by the department as falling outside of an urban area with population of less than five thousand people; and

          J. "regional government" means any combination of municipalities and counties that enter into a joint powers agreement to provide for economic development projects pursuant to a plan adopted by all parties to the joint powers agreement."

     SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2011.

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