In addition to any other powers that it may now have, a municipality shall have the following powers:

1. A. to acquire, whether by construction, purchase, gift or lease, one or more projects that shall be located within this state and may be located within or without the municipality or partially within or partially without the municipality, but which shall not be located more than fifteen miles outside of the corporate limits of the municipality; provided that:

   1. (1) urban transit buses qualifying as a project pursuant to Subsection B of Section 3-32-3 NMSA 1978 need not be continuously located within this state, but the commercial enterprise using the urban transit buses for leasing shall meet the location requirement of this subsection; and

   2. (2) a municipality shall not acquire any electricity generation facility, transmission facility or energy storage facility project unless the school districts within the municipality in which the project is located receive annual in-lieu tax payments; provided that the annual in-lieu tax payments required by this paragraph shall be:

      1. (a) payable to the school districts for the period the municipality owns and leases the project;
      2. (b) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount received by the municipality multiplied by the percentage determined by dividing the average of mills imposed by the school districts within the municipality plus state debt service mills as of the date of issuance of the bonds by the average of the mills imposed by all entities levying taxes on property in the municipality as of such date;
      3. (c) divided among the school districts located within the municipality, if there is more than one school district in such municipality, and the in-lieu payment shall be allocated as follows: 1) fifty percent allocated equally among all school districts in which the project is located; 2) forty percent allocated to the school districts within the municipality in proportion to the area of each school district within the municipality; and 3) ten percent allocated to the school districts in proportion to the average of each school district's student membership pursuant to the Public School Code [Chapter 22 NMSA 1978, except Article 5A] reported on the second and third reporting dates for the most recent school year for which data is available as of the date of issuance of the bonds; and
      4. (d) for each individual school district located within the municipality, no less than the amount due to the school district in the tax year immediately preceding the issuance of the bonds from the property included in a project, had such project not been created;
2. B. to sell or lease or otherwise dispose of any or all of its projects upon such terms and conditions as the governing body may deem advisable and as shall not conflict with the provisions of the Industrial Revenue Bond Act;
3. C. to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of defraying the cost of acquiring by construction and purchase, or either, any project and to secure the payment of such bonds, all as provided in the Industrial Revenue Bond Act. No municipality shall have the power to operate any project as a business or in any manner except as lessor;
4. D. to refinance one or more hospital or 501(c)(3) corporation projects and to acquire any such hospital or 501(c)(3) corporation project whether by construction, purchase, gift or lease, which hospital or 501(c)(3) corporation project shall be located within this state and may be located within or without the municipality or partially within or partially without the municipality, but which shall not be located more than fifteen miles outside of the corporate limits of the municipality, and to issue revenue bonds to refinance and acquire a hospital or 501(c)(3) corporation project and to secure the payment of such bonds, all as provided in the Industrial Revenue Bond Act. A municipality shall not have the power to operate a hospital or 501(c)(3) corporation project as a business or in any manner except as lessor; and
5. E. to refinance one or more projects of any private institution of higher education and to acquire any such project, whether by construction, purchase, gift or lease; provided that the project shall be located within this state and may be located within or without the municipality or partially within or partially without the municipality, but the project shall not be located more than fifteen miles outside of the corporate limits of the municipality, and to issue revenue bonds to refinance and acquire any project of any private institution of higher education and to secure the payment of such bonds. A municipality shall not have the power to operate a project of a private institution of higher education as a business or in any manner except as lessor.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-31-3, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1977, ch. 335, § 3; 1994, ch. 134, § 2; 2002, ch. 25, § 3; 2002, ch. 37, § 3; 2005, ch. 9, § 2; 2020, ch. 14, § 2; 2021, ch. 91, § 1; 2023, ch. 180, § 1; 2024, ch. 67, § 2.

ANNOTATIONS

Cross references. — For definition of 501(c)(3) corporation, see 3-32-1 NMSA 1978.

The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, provided an exception to certain powers conferred on municipalities by including energy storage facility projects in an existing provision listing projects that municipalities are prohibited from acquiring, unless the school districts within the municipality in which the project is located receive annual in-lieu tax payments; and in Subsection A, Paragraph A(2), after "electricity generation", added "facility", and after "transmission facility", added "or energy storage facility".

The 2023 amendment, effective April 5, 2023, modified the formula for distributions of payments-in-lieu of taxes to school districts; and in Subsection A, Subparagraph A(2)(b), after "dividing the average of", deleted "the operating, capital improvement and bond", after "within the municipality", deleted "and" and added "plus", in Subparagraph A(2)(c), deleted "shared" and added "divided", after "within the municipality", deleted "equally", and after "in such municipality, and", added "the in-lieu payment shall be allocated as follows: 1) fifty percent allocated equally among all school districts in which the project is located; 2) forty percent allocated to the school districts within the municipality in proportion to the area of each school district within the municipality; and 3) ten percent allocated to the school districts in proportion to the average of each school district's student membership pursuant to the Public School Code reported on the second and third reporting dates for the most recent school year for which data is available as of the date of issuance of the bonds; and", and in Subparagraph A(2)(d), deleted "not be" and added "for each individual school district located within the municipality, no".

The 2021 amendment, effective June 18, 2021, changed the method for determining an annual in-lieu tax payment for an electric generation or transmission facility project, and provided for the sharing of in-lieu tax payments among school districts, and provided that the minimum in-lieu payment for the school districts shall be the amount that would have been due the school districts in the tax year immediately preceding the issuance of the bonds from the property included in the project; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(2), after "unless the school", deleted "district in which the project is located will receive the same amount, or greater, of annual in-lieu tax payments as would have been received in property taxes for the fully developed project had the project not been acquired" and added "districts within the municipality in which the project is located receive annual in-lieu tax payments; provided that the annual in-lieu tax payments required by this paragraph shall be", and added Subparagraphs A(2)(a) through A(2)(d).

The 2020 amendment, effective July 1, 2020, prohibited municipalities from acquiring electricity generation or transmission facility projects unless the school district in which the project is located will receive the same amount, or greater, of annual in-lieu tax payments as would have been received in property taxes had the project not been acquired; and in Subsection A, Paragraph A(2), after "generation", added "or transmission", and deleted "the acquisition is approved by the local school board of the school district in which a project is located and the governing body, the local school board and the person proposing the project negotiate and determine the amount of an annual in-lieu tax payment to be made to the school district by the person proposing the project, for the period that the municipality owns and leases the project, and provided such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld" and added "the school district in which the project is located will receive the same amount, or greater, of annual in-lieu tax payments as would have been received in property taxes for the fully developed project had the project not been acquired".

The 2005 amendment, effective March 11, 2005, provided that a qualified urban transit buses project need not be continuously located in New Mexico, but the commercial enterprise using the buses for leasing must meet the location requirements of Subsection A.

The 2002 amendment, effective May 15, 2002, added the provisos in Subsection A and inserted "or 501(c)(3) corporation" in five places in Subsection D.

The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, substituted "the Industrial Revenue Bond Act" for "Sections 14-31-1 through 14-31-13 NMSA 1953" in Subsection B, inserted "in the Industrial Revenue Bond Act" and made related stylistic changes in Subsections C and D, and added Subsection E.

Location of "project". — A municipality has no power to acquire a "project" that is located, and is to remain located, either outside of the state or more than 15 miles outside the corporate limits of the municipality. Therefore, a municipality may not acquire a "project" that includes a business that is located outside the state, unless that out-of-state business is to be relocated within New Mexico, and within 15 miles of the corporate limits of the acquiring municipality. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-190.

Law reviews. — For article, "Ad Valorem Tax Status of a Private Lessee's Interest in Publicly Owned Property: Taxability of Possessory Interests in Industrial Projects under the New Mexico Industrial Revenue Bond Act," see 3 N.M.L. Rev. 136 (1973).