1. A. The "child care facility revolving loan fund" is created in the authority to provide low-interest, long-term loans to providers to make health and safety improvements in their facilities, expand their facilities, create new facilities and for operating capital. The fund shall consist of appropriations, gifts, grants and donations to the fund, which shall be invested as provided in the New Mexico Finance Authority Act [Chapter 6, Article 21 NMSA 1978]. Money in the fund shall not revert. Administrative costs of the authority may be paid from the fund.
2. B. Money in the fund shall be used to make loans to providers or to contract for services with providers that demonstrate the need for operating capital or to make health and safety improvements, including space expansion, in order to maintain an adequate and appropriate environment for their clients; to providers seeking to expand child care facilities; and to providers seeking to create new child care facilities, including for employers to create child care facilities for the employer's employees. Loans from the fund are to be made at an interest rate greater than zero percent for a term that does not exceed the useful life of the project being financed.

3. C. The department and the authority may contract for services with an eligible provider to provide child care for child care assistance eligible families as reasonably adequate legal consideration for money from the fund; provided that within a period of time prescribed in the contract of disbursement of the loan, the provider:

   1. (1) is located in a designated child care desert;
   2. (2) provides care during non-traditional hours;
   3. (3) demonstrates that at least fifty percent of the children that the provider or employer serves are recipients of a child care assistance program expanded or created by the provider;
   4. (4) demonstrates that the number of children served by the provider increased by at least ten percent; and
   5. (5) satisfies other qualifications as determined by the department and the authority.
4. D. No more than twenty percent of the fund may be loaned for a single provider in a single project. The department shall give priority for loans to providers that serve proportionately high numbers of state-subsidized clients and low-income families that are located in communities with high poverty rates and that provide nontraditional-hour child care.
5. E. The department, in conjunction with the authority, shall adopt rules to administer and implement the Child Care Facility Loan Act, including providing for eligibility requirements and for the selection of applicants based on department-defined priority. The rules shall become effective when filed in accordance with the State Rules Act [Chapter 14, Article 4 NMSA 1978].

History: Laws 2003, ch. 316, § 4; 2023, ch. 129, § 12; 2025, ch. 14, § 2.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, expanded the purposes for which the New Mexico finance authority may provide loans to child care providers, and expanded the purposes for which the early childhood education and care department and the New Mexico finance authority may use money in the child care facility revolving loan fund, and provided conditions that providers must meet to receive money from the child care facility revolving loan fund; in Subsection A, after "improvements in their facilities" added "expand their facilities, create new facilities" and after "Money in the fund shall not revert.", deleted "and is appropriated to the department, which shall utilize the fund for the purposes of the Child Care Facility Loan Act"; in Subsection B, after "used to make loans to providers" added "or to contract for services with providers", after "demonstrate the need" added "for operating capital or", and after "appropriate environment for their clients" added "to providers seeking to expand child care facilities; and to providers seeking to create new child care facilities, including for employers to create child care facilities for the employer's employees"; added a new Subsection C and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections D and E, respectively; in Subsection D, after "low-income families" added "that are located in communities with high poverty rates and that provide nontraditional-hour child care"; and in Subsection E, after "Child Care Facility Loan Act" added "including providing for eligibility requirements and for the selection of applicants based on department-defined priority".

The 2023 amendment, effective June 16, 2023, revised provisions related to the administration of the child care facility revolving loan fund; in Subsection A, after "facilities", added "and for the operating capital", deleted "Expenditures from the fund for loans to providers shall be made upon warrants of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of children, youth and families or his authorized representative"; in Subsection B, after "made at", deleted "the lowest legally permissible", after "interest", deleted "rates" and added "rate greater than zero percent", and deleted "the longest amount of time in order to allow the providers the maximum opportunity to maintain the business while repaying the loan" and added "a term that does not exceed the useful life of the project being financed"; and in Subsection C, deleted "loan. A provider that has received a loan from the fund in the immediately preceding five years or that has not completed repayment of a previous loan from the fund is ineligible for a new loan" and added "project".