44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

RELATING TO THE MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE TAX; PROVIDING FOR DISTRIBUTION OF MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE TAX RECEIPTS TO THE STATE ROAD FUND WHEN ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS FOR HIGHWAY REVENUE BONDS REACH AND REMAIN BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

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

Section 1. Section 7-14-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 73, Section 20, as amended) is amended to read:

"7-14-10. DISTRIBUTION OF PROCEEDS.--

A. The receipts from the tax and any associated interest and penalties shall be deposited in the "motor vehicle suspense fund", hereby created in the state treasury. As of the end of each month, the net receipts attributable to the tax and associated penalties and interest shall be distributed to the general fund, except as provided otherwise in Subsection B of this section.

B. No later than October 1 of each fiscal year, the state highway commission shall certify to the secretary of finance and administration and report to the legislative finance committee the total amount of debt service payments for the preceding fiscal year for all bonds issued pursuant to Section 67-3-59.1 NMSA 1978. Based on the level of those debt service payments, the following distributions of the net receipts attributable to the tax and the associated interest and penalties shall be made:

(1) in any fiscal year that the total amount of debt service payments for the preceding fiscal year is certified by the state highway commission to be less than thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) and the commission certifies that the payments will not exceed thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) in any of the next succeeding five fiscal years, the net receipts attributable to the tax and associated interest and penalties shall be distributed beginning July 1 of the fiscal year following that certification as follows:

(a) for the fiscal year following the certification, three-fourths to the general fund and one-fourth to the state road fund;

(b) for the second fiscal year after that certification, one-half to the general fund and one-half to the state road fund;

(c) for the third fiscal year after that certification, one-fourth to the general fund and three-fourths to the state road fund; and

(d) for the fourth fiscal year after that certification and subsequent fiscal years, except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this subsection, to the state road fund; and

(2) in any fiscal year after the year in which Subparagraph (d) of Paragraph (1) of this subsection takes effect that the state highway commission certifies that the total amount of debt service payments for all bonds issued pursuant to Section 67-3-59.1 NMSA 1978 exceeded thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) in the preceding fiscal year, then the net receipts attributable to the tax and the associated interest and penalties shall be distributed in the next succeeding fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter to the general fund."

Section 2. Section 67-3-65.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 211, Section 40) is amended to read:

"67-3-65.1. STATE ROAD FUND DISTRIBUTION.--

A. The amounts distributed to the state road fund pursuant to Section 7-1-6.10 NMSA 1978 shall be used for maintenance, construction and improvement of the public highways and to meet federal allotments under the federal-aid road laws, but sufficient money from the state road fund shall be set aside each year by the state treasurer to pay the principal and interest coupons of highway debentures issued to anticipate the collection of this revenue as the principal and interest coupons mature.

B. The amounts distributed to the state road fund pursuant to Subsection B of Section 7-14-10 NMSA 1978 shall be used only for maintenance and improvement of existing state highways."