SENATE BILL 437

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Pat Woods

AN ACT

RELATING TO LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; EXEMPTING CERTAIN INFORMATION RELATED TO LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FROM THE INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS ACT; DEFINING "PROPRIETARY TECHNICAL OR BUSINESS INFORMATION"; PROVIDING PENALTIES.

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

     SECTION 1. 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. "proprietary technical or business information" means the confidential information of a qualifying entity related to a local economic development project and includes:

                (1) business trade secrets;

                (2) a business's or person's commercial or financial information, the disclosure of which would cause substantial competitive harm or disadvantage to the business or person;

                (3) credit reports of a business's principals and officers; and

                (4) reports relating to a person's background that contain information that is not publicly available or is protected by state or federal privacy laws;

          [I.] J. "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) 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) 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

          [J.] K. "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 2. A new section of the Local Economic Development Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] PROPRIETARY INFORMATION--CONFIDENTIALITY--PENALTY.--

          A. Information obtained by a municipality or county from a qualifying entity that is proprietary technical or business information or is related to the possible relocation or expansion of a qualifying entity shall be confidential and not subject to inspection pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records Act.

          B. It is unlawful for an employee of a municipality or county, or a former employee of a municipality or county, to reveal to a person other than another employee of the municipality or county confidential information obtained by the municipality or county that is proprietary technical or business information or is related to the possible relocation or expansion of a qualifying entity, and that is not available from public sources, except in response to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

          C. An employee or former employee of a municipality or county who discloses information in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978."

     SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2013.

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