HOUSE BILL 260

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Richard D. Vigil

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCES; ELIMINATING THE REQUIREMENT THAT A COMMUNITY BE LOCATED WITHIN ONE HUNDRED FIFTY MILES OF THE UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER TO BE DEFINED AS A COLONIA FOR PURPOSES OF THE COLONIAS INFRASTRUCTURE ACT.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 6-30-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010, Chapter 10, Section 1) is amended to read:

     "6-30-1. SHORT TITLE.--[Sections 1 through 8 of this act] Chapter 6, Article 30 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Colonias Infrastructure Act"."

     SECTION 2. Section 6-30-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010, Chapter 10, Section 3) is amended to read:

     "6-30-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Colonias Infrastructure Act:

          A. "authority" means the New Mexico finance authority;

          B. "board" means the colonias infrastructure board;

          C. "colonia" means a rural community with a population of twenty-five thousand or less [located within one hundred fifty miles of the United States-Mexico border] that:

                (1) has been designated as a colonia by the municipality or county in which it is located because of a:

                     (a) lack of potable water supply;

                     (b) lack of adequate sewage systems; or

                     (c) lack of decent, safe and sanitary housing;

                (2) has been in existence as a colonia prior to November 1990; and

                (3) has submitted appropriate documentation to the board to substantiate the conditions of this subsection, including documentation that supports the designation of the municipality or county;

          D. "financial assistance" means providing grants or loans on terms and conditions approved by the authority;

          E. "project fund" means the colonias infrastructure project fund;

          F. "qualified entity" means a county, municipality or other entity recognized as a political subdivision of the state;

          G. "qualified project" means a capital outlay project selected by the board for financial assistance that is primarily intended to develop colonias infrastructure. A qualified project may include a water system, a wastewater system, solid waste disposal facilities, flood and drainage control, roads or housing infrastructure; but "qualified project" does not include general operation and maintenance, equipment, housing allowance payments or mortgage subsidies; and

          H. "trust fund" means the colonias infrastructure trust fund."

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