1. A. Subject to the limitations contained in Section 3-38-15 NMSA 1978, a municipality or county imposing an occupancy tax may use the proceeds from the occupancy tax that are collected based on the first thirty days a vendee rents lodgings in taxable premises to defray costs of:

   1. (1) collecting and otherwise administering the occupancy tax, including the performance of audits required by the Lodgers' Tax Act [3-38-13 to 3-38-25 NMSA 1978] pursuant to guidelines issued by the department of finance and administration;
   2. (2) establishing, operating, purchasing, constructing, otherwise acquiring, reconstructing, extending, improving, equipping, furnishing or acquiring real property or any interest in real property for the site or grounds for tourist-related facilities and attractions or tourist-related transportation systems of the municipality, the county in which the municipality is located or the county;
   3. (3) the principal of and interest on any prior redemption premiums due in connection with and any other charges pertaining to revenue bonds authorized by Section 3-38-23 or 3-38-24 NMSA 1978;
   4. (4) advertising, publicizing and promoting tourist-related attractions, facilities and events of the municipality or county and tourist-related facilities, attractions and events within the area;
   5. (5) providing police and fire protection and sanitation service for tourist-related facilities, attractions and events located in the respective municipality or county;
   6. (6) providing a required minimum revenue guarantee for air service to the municipality or county to increase the ability of tourists to easily access the municipality's or county's tourist-related facilities, attractions and events; or
   7. (7) any combination of the foregoing purposes or transactions stated in this section, but for no other municipal or county purpose.
2. B. A municipality or county imposing an occupancy tax may use the proceeds from the occupancy tax that are collected based on the thirty-first and subsequent days a vendee rents lodgings in taxable premises for any municipality or county purpose; provided that the use is stated in the ordinance imposing the tax.
3. C. As used in this section, "minimum revenue guarantee" is the amount of money guaranteed by a municipality or county to be earned by an airline providing air services to and from that municipality or county, which is the difference between the minimum flight charge revenue specified in the contract between the municipality or county and the airline and the amount of actual flight charge revenue received by the airline that is less than that contractual amount.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-37-22, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 199, § 9; 1976 (S.S.), ch. 34, § 6; 1983, ch. 217, § 1; 1987, ch. 9, § 2; 1989, ch. 203, § 1; 1995, ch. 97, § 1; 1996, ch. 58, § 7; 2016, ch. 30, § 1; 2020, ch. 19, § 5.

ANNOTATIONS

Cross references. — For requirements of occupancy tax quarterly reports, see 6-6-4.1 NMSA 1978.

The 2020 amendment, effective July 1, 2020, changed the allowable uses of occupancy tax revenues; in Subsection A, in the introductory clause, after "the occupancy tax", added "that are collected based on the first thirty days a vendee rents lodgings in taxable premises"; and added a new Subsection B and redesignated the succeeding subsection accordingly.

The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, allowed municipalities and counties to use the proceeds from the occupancy tax to provide a required minimum revenue guarantee for air service to the municipality or county to increase the ability of tourists to more easily access the municipality’s or county’s tourist-related attractions, and defined "minimum revenue guarantee"; added new subsection designation "A" and redesignated former Subsections A through E as new Paragraphs (1) through (5) of Subsection A, in Subsection A, in the introductory paragraph, after "use the proceeds from the", added "occupancy", in Paragraph (1), after "administering the", added "occupancy", in Paragraph (2), after "tourist-related facilities", added "and", and after "attractions or", added "tourist-related", in Paragraph (4), after "municipality or county and", deleted "tourist" and added "tourist-related", after the second occurrence of "facilities", deleted "or", and after "attractions", added "and events", in Paragraph (5), after "tourist-related", deleted "events", after "facilities", deleted "and", after "attractions", added "and events", after the semicolon, deleted "or", and added new Paragraph (6) of Subsection A and redesignated former Subsection F as Paragraph (7) of Subsection A; and added new Subsection B.

The 1996 amendment, effective July 1, 1996, rewrote this section.

The 1995 amendment, effective June 16, 1995, substituted "subsection" for "paragraph" in the second sentence in Subsection F, and added Subsection H and redesignated former Subsections G and H as Subsections I and G.

The 1989 amendment, effective April 4, 1989, in Subsection B, inserted "welcome centers, tourist information centers, museums," and "in operation prior to January 1, 1989"; and, in Subsection F, added all of the language of the first sentence beginning with "except" and added the second sentence.

The 1987 amendment, effective June 19, 1987, inserted "or attractions" after "facilities" in Subsection F and added Subsection H.

Operation of racetrack. — The City of Raton cannot utilize its occupancy tax proceeds to operate the privately owned and operated La Mesa Park racetrack or help defer the expenses at the track. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-38.

Promotion of facilities by toll-free telephone service. — If a toll-free telephone service is used to promote the natural and man-made tourist attractions of the town of Red River, or to promote any facilities authorized by this section within Red River, then the expenses of operating and maintaining such a service would be an authorized expenditure of lodgers' tax revenues; to the extent that such telephone service is used to conduct any other business of the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber would have to bear those costs. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-49.