0001|                           HOUSE BILL 1012
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0002|     43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997
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0003|                            INTRODUCED BY
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0004|                              BEN LUJAN
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0005|     
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0006|     
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0007|                                   
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0008|     
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0009|                                   
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0010|     
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0011|                                AN ACT
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0012|     RELATING TO TAXATION; AUTHORIZING IMPOSITION OF A COUNTY PUBLIC
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0013|     SCHOOL GROSS RECEIPTS TAX TO PROVIDE COST-OF-LIVING SUPPLEMENTS
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0014|     FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN AN AREA
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0015|     IMPACTED BY A HIGH COST OF LIVING; PROVIDING FOR DISTRIBUTION
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0016|     OF REVENUES; PROVIDING FOR A REFERENDUM.
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0017|     
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0018|     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0019|          Section 1.  A new section of the County Local Option Gross
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0020|     Receipts Taxes Act is enacted to read:
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0021|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL GROSS RECEIPTS
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0022|     TAX--AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE RATE--DISTRIBUTION AND USE OF FUNDS--
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0023|     REFERENDUM.--
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0024|               A.  Upon the request of a majority of the members of
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0025|     the school board of an impacted school district in which a
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0001|     majority of the students reside in the county, the majority of
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0002|     the members of the governing body of the county shall enact an
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0003|     ordinance imposing an excise tax at a rate not to exceed one-
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0004|     eighth of one percent of the gross receipts of any person
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0005|     engaging in business in the county for the privilege of
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0006|     engaging in business in the county.
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0007|               B.  This tax may be referred to as the "county
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0008|     public school gross receipts tax".
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0009|               C.  The tax authorized in Subsection A of this
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0010|     section shall be imposed at a rate of:
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0011|                    (1)  one-eighth of one percent of the gross
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0012|     receipts of any person engaging in business in the county if
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0013|     the impacted school district requesting imposition of the tax
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0014|     is located in a municipality that exceeds the cost-of-living
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0015|     index by twenty percent or more; provided, upon notification by
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0016|     the district that the rate must be reduced to one-sixteenth of
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0017|     one percent to comply with the requirements in Subsections E
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0018|     through G of this section, the county shall enact an ordinance
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0019|     imposing the tax at a rate of one-sixteenth of one percent of
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0020|     the gross receipts of any person engaging in business in the
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0021|     county; or
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0022|                    (2)  one-sixteenth of one percent of the gross
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0023|     receipts of any person engaging in business in the county if
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0024|     the impacted school district requesting imposition of the tax
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0025|     is located in a municipality that exceeds the cost-of-living
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0001|     index by less than twenty percent.
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0002|               D.  A county, at the time of enacting an ordinance 
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0003|     imposing a county public school gross receipts tax, shall
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0004|     dedicate the entire amount of revenue produced by the tax for
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0005|     distribution to a specific impacted school district in the
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0006|     county to be used solely to provide cost-of-living supplements
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0007|     to all employees of the district.  The county shall distribute
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0008|     the net receipts from the tax monthly to the impacted school
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0009|     district for whom the revenue is dedicated.
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0010|               E.  No impacted school district may receive from the
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0011|     county public school gross receipts tax net receipts that for
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0012|     any fiscal year exceed ten percent of the amount distributed to
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0013|     the district through the state equalization guarantee
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0014|     distribution for that fiscal year.  The district, upon a
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0015|     finding that it anticipates such an excess amount and subject
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0016|     to the approval of the local school board and the state
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0017|     department of public education, shall notify the board of
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0018|     county commissioners to reduce the rate, if the rate of the
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0019|     county public school gross receipts tax can be reduced.  If
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0020|     not, the district shall reduce the amount budgeted for cost-of-
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0021|     living supplements to an amount that does not exceed ten
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0022|     percent of the amount distributed to the district through the
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0023|     state equalization guarantee distribution for that fiscal year
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0024|     and shall provide for distribution of the excess amount to a
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0025|     special school district capital fund established by the
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0001|     district to fund capital and technology needs of the district.  
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0002|               F.  If an impacted school district receiving county
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0003|     public school gross receipts tax revenues ceases to meet the
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0004|     qualifications for an impacted school district, the district
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0005|     shall phase out the employee cost-of-living supplements over a
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0006|     three-year period.  To phase out funding, the district shall
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0007|     continue for one fiscal year to budget one hundred percent of
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0008|     the receipts for cost-of-living supplements and then shall
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0009|     reduce the budget for those supplements to two-thirds of the
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0010|     full amount for the second fiscal year and one-third of the
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0011|     full amount for the third year.  Any revenues distributed from
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0012|     the county public school gross receipts tax in excess of the
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0013|     budgeted amounts shall be deposited in the special school
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0014|     district capital fund for expenditure for district capital and
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0015|     technology needs.    
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0016|               G.  Upon a finding that the school district ceases
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0017|     to qualify as an impacted school district, the district shall
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0018|     notify the board of county commissioners of that fact ninety
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0019|     days prior to the next succeeding July 1.  The board of county
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0020|     commissioners shall enact an ordinance reducing the tax for any
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0021|     succeeding fiscal year, if necessary and possible pursuant to
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0022|     this section, and shall repeal the tax on the July 1 four years
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0023|     following the notification. 
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0024|               H.  A school district receiving county public school
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0025|     gross receipts tax revenues shall determine prior to the
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0001|     beginning of the school year, based on estimated revenues, the
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0002|     amount of the periodic cost-of-living supplement that can be
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0003|     paid to each employee for the school year.  The supplement
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0004|     shall be distributed to employees in nine or twelve equal
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0005|     payments a year, as determined by each school district,
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0006|     provided that the final installment each year may be adjusted
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0007|     as necessary to meet available revenue.  Amounts distributed
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0008|     shall be supplemental to and not a part of the employees'
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0009|     salaries.
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0010|               I.  An ordinance enacting the county public school
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0011|     gross receipts tax pursuant to Subsection A of this section
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0012|     shall go into effect on July 1 or January 1 in accordance with
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0013|     the provisions of the County Local Option Gross Receipts Taxes
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0014|     Act, but an election may be called in the county on the
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0015|     question of approving or disapproving that ordinance as
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0016|     follows:
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0017|                    (1)  an election shall be called when:
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0018|                         (a)  in a county having a referendum
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0019|     provision in its charter, a petition requesting such an
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0020|     election is filed pursuant to the requirements of that
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0021|     provision in the charter and signed by the number of registered
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0022|     voters in the county equal to the number of registered voters
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0023|     required in its charter to seek a referendum; and
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0024|                         (b)  in all other counties, a petition
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0025|     requesting such an election is filed with the county clerk
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0001|     within thirty days of enactment of the ordinance by the
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0002|     governing body and the petition has been signed by a number of
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0003|     registered voters in the county equal to at least five percent
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0004|     of the number of voters in the county who were registered to
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0005|     vote in the most recent general election;
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0006|                    (2)  the signatures on the petition requesting
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0007|     an election shall be verified by the county clerk.  If the
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0008|     petition is verified by the county clerk as containing the
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0009|     required number of signatures of registered voters, the
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0010|     governing body shall adopt a resolution calling an election on
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0011|     the question of approving or disapproving the ordinance.  The
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0012|     election shall be held within sixty days after the date the
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0013|     petition is verified by the county clerk, or it may be held in
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0014|     conjunction with a general election if that election occurs
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0015|     within sixty days after the date of the verification.  The
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0016|     election shall be called, held, conducted and canvassed in
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0017|     substantially the same manner as provided by law for general
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0018|     elections; and
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0019|                    (3)  if a majority of the registered voters
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0020|     voting on the question approves the ordinance imposing the
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0021|     county public school gross receipts tax, the ordinance shall go
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0022|     into effect on July 1 or January 1 in accordance with the
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0023|     provisions of the County Local Option Gross Receipts Taxes Act. 
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0024|     If at such an election a majority of the registered voting on
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0025|     the question disapproves the ordinance, the ordinance imposing
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0001|     the county public school gross receipts tax shall be deemed
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0002|     repealed and the question of imposing the tax shall not be
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0003|     considered again by the governing body for a period of one year
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0004|     from the date of the election.
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0005|               J.  As used in this section:
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0006|                    (1)  "cost-of-living index" means the American
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0007|     chamber of commerce researchers association national median
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0008|     composite cost-of-living index; and
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0009|                    (2)  "impacted school district" means a school
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0010|     district that is located in a municipality that is deemed to be
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0011|     a high cost-of-living area if: 
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0012|                         (a)  the municipality's cost of living
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0013|     equals or exceeds the cost-of-living index by ten percent or
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0014|     more; or
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0015|                         (b)  the municipality is designated by
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0016|     the federal internal revenue service as a high-cost area that
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0017|     qualifies for a per diem travel allowance greater than the
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0018|     standard allowance pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code."
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0019|                              
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