RELATING TO THE PUBLIC PEACE, HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE; PERTAINING TO LOCAL ECONOMICS; EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF A QUALIFYING ENTITY; AMENDING THE LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT.

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. "department" means the economic development department;

B. "economic development project" or "project" means the provision of direct or indirect assistance to a qualifying business 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 business; 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; 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 business; purchase of land for a publicly held industrial park; and the construction of a building for use by a qualifying business;

C. "governing body" means the city council or city commission of a city, the board of trustees of a town or village or the board of county commissioners of a county;

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

E. "municipality" means any incorporated city, town or village;

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

G. "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; or

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

H. "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."