SENATE BILL 186
51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013
INTRODUCED BY
Howie C. Morales
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE; ALLOWING LEASE-PURCHASE ARRANGEMENTS OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BE PAID FROM STATE EQUALIZATION GUARANTEE DISTRIBUTIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 6-15A-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1997, Chapter 193, Section 1) is amended to read:
"6-15A-1. SHORT TITLE.--[Sections 1 through 16 of this act] Chapter 6, Article 15A NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Education Technology Equipment Act"."
SECTION 2. A new section of the Education Technology Equipment Act is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] TIMELY PAYMENT OF SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS.--
A. Whenever a paying agent has not received payment of principal or interest on school district lease-purchase arrangements on the business day immediately prior to the date on which the payment is due, the paying agent shall so notify the department of finance and administration, the public education department and the school district by telephone, facsimile or other similar communication, followed by written verification, of the payment status. The department of finance and administration shall immediately contact the school district and determine whether the school district will make the payment by the date on which it is due.
B. If the school district indicates that it will not make the payment by the date on which it is due, the department of finance and administration shall forward the amount in immediately available funds necessary to make the payment due on the lease-purchase arrangements to the paying agent from the current fiscal year's undistributed state equalization guarantee distribution to that school district and, if not otherwise repaid by the school district from other legally available funds, withhold the distributions from the school district until the amount has been recouped by the department of finance and administration; provided that if the amount of the undistributed state equalization guarantee distribution in the current fiscal year is less than the payment due on the lease-purchase arrangement, the department of finance and administration shall:
(1) forward in immediately available funds to the paying agent an amount equal to the total amount of the school district's undistributed state equalization guarantee distribution and, if not otherwise repaid by the school district from other legally available funds, withhold all distributions to the school district for the remainder of the fiscal year; and
(2) on July 1 of the following fiscal year, forward in immediately available funds an amount equal to the remaining amount due to the paying agent from that year's state equalization guarantee distribution and, if not otherwise repaid by the school district from other legally available funds, withhold an equal amount from the distribution to the school district until the amount paid has been recouped in full.
C. The amounts forwarded to the paying agent by the department of finance and administration shall be applied by the paying agent solely to the payment of the principal or interest due on the lease-purchase arrangement of the school district. The department of finance and administration shall notify the public education department, the chief financial officer of the school district, the department of finance and administration, the legislative finance committee and the legislative education study committee of amounts withheld and payments made pursuant to this section.
D. Upon entering a lease-purchase arrangement by a school district, the school district shall file with the department of finance and administration a copy of the resolution that authorizes the lease-purchase arrangement; the agreement, if any, with a paying agent; and the name, address and telephone number of the paying agent. The failure of a school district to file the information shall not affect the obligation of the department of finance and administration to withhold the state equalization guarantee distribution pursuant to this section.
E. The state hereby covenants with the purchasers and holders of lease-purchase arrangements issued by school districts that it will not repeal, revoke or rescind the provisions of this section or modify or amend them so as to limit or impair the rights and remedies granted by this section; provided that nothing in this subsection shall be deemed or construed to require the state to continue the payment of a state equalization guarantee distribution to any school district or to limit or prohibit the state from repealing, amending or modifying any law relating to the amount of state equalization guarantee distributions to school districts or the manner of payment or the timing thereof. Nothing in this section shall be deemed or construed to create a debt of the state with respect to the lease-purchase arrangements within the meaning of any state constitutional provision or to create any liability except to the extent provided in this section.
F. Whenever the department of finance and administration is required by this section to make a payment of principal or interest on a lease-purchase arrangement on behalf of a school district, the public education department shall initiate an audit of the school district to determine the reason for the nonpayment and to assist the school district, if necessary, in developing and implementing measures to ensure that future payments will be made when due.
G. Whenever the department of finance and administration makes a payment of principal and interest on a lease-purchase arrangement of a school district and withholds amounts from the state equalization guarantee distribution pursuant to this section because of the failure to collect property taxes, the school district may transfer delinquent property taxes later collected into its general fund.
H. This section applies to lease-purchase arrangements entered into by a school district on or after July 1, 2013."
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