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

RELATING TO INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING; CREATING A PERMANENT LEGISLATIVE CAPITAL COUNCIL AND ESTABLISHING ITS DUTIES; CREATING THE LEGISLATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND; DISTRIBUTING MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE TAX REVENUES AND TOBACCO SETTLEMENT REVENUES TO THE FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

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

Section 1. [NEW MATERIAL] LEGISLATIVE CAPITAL COUNCIL CREATED--MEMBERSHIP--SUBCOMMITTEES--STAFF.--

A. The "legislative capital council" is created as a permanent joint interim legislative committee.

B. The legislative capital council shall consist of eight members. The New Mexico legislative council shall appoint four members from the house of representatives and four members from the senate and shall designate the chairman and vice chairman of the legislative capital council. Members shall be appointed from each house so as to give the two major political parties in each house the same proportionate representation on the council as prevails in each house; however, in no event shall each of the parties have less than one member from each house on the council. At the request of the council chairman, a member may be removed from the council by the New Mexico legislative council for nonattendance according to New Mexico legislative council policy. Vacancies on the legislative capital council, however caused, shall be filled by the New Mexico legislative council.

C. No action shall be taken by the legislative capital council if a majority of the total membership from either house on the council rejects the action.

D. To carry out its duties, the legislative capital council may create subcommittees. Subcommittees shall be created only by majority vote of all members appointed to the legislative capital council and with the prior approval of the New Mexico legislative council. A subcommittee shall be composed of at least one member from the senate and one member from the house of representatives, and at least one member of the minority party shall be a member of the subcommittee. All meetings and expenditures of a subcommittee shall be approved by the full council in advance of such meeting or expenditure, and the approval shall be shown in the minutes of the council.

E. The staff for the legislative capital council shall be provided by the legislative council service.

Section 2. [NEW MATERIAL] LEGISLATIVE CAPITAL COUNCIL--DUTIES.--The legislative capital council shall:

A. develop and implement a process for gathering and providing information on state and local capital needs and priorities in a manner that will assist the legislature in the selection of capital projects to be funded;

B. identify and inventory the current and long-term capital needs of state agencies, educational institutions, public schools and local governments;

C. develop a method for setting priorities among the various capital needs and guidelines for making annual recommendations to the legislature for capital funding;

D. determine annually the amount of money and bonding capacity available from all state and local sources for funding of capital projects;

E. coordinate with and seek testimony and assistance, as necessary to carry out the council's duties, from state agencies or institutions or any district or local government officials or agencies;

F. make recommendations, as needed, for additional funding sources or financing mechanisms for capital projects and for management or oversight of capital project funding programs; and

G. report annually to the New Mexico legislative council and to each regular session of the legislature its findings and general recommendations on state and local capital needs and priorities and proposed legislation, if any, for changes in financing state and local capital projects.

Section 3. [NEW MATERIAL] LEGISLATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND CREATED-- DISTRIBUTION OF TOBACCO SETTLEMENT REVENUES TO FUND.--

A. The "legislative infrastructure fund" is created in the state treasury and shall consist of distributions of tobacco settlement revenue and motor vehicle excise tax receipts distributed to the fund. Money in the fund shall be available for appropriation by the legislature for any capital outlay purpose of the state or any agency, institution, instrumentality or political subdivision of the state. Income earned from investment of the fund shall accrue to the fund. Balances in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert, but shall remain in the fund for appropriation in subsequent fiscal years.

B. The state treasurer shall transfer to the legislative infrastructure fund twenty-five percent of every amount distributed to the state pursuant to the master settlement agreement entered into between tobacco product manufacturers and the various states, including New Mexico, and executed November 23, 1998, or transferred from a qualified escrow fund authorized by a qualifying state statute enacted pursuant to the master settlement agreement.

Section 4. 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.--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] as follows:

A. prior to July 1, 2000, to the general fund;

B. for the period from July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001, two-thirds to the general fund and one-third to the legislative infrastructure fund;

C. for the period from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002, one-third to the general fund and two-thirds to the legislative infrastructure fund; and

D. after June 30, 2002, to the legislative infrastructure fund."