1. A. If interests in project property are exempt from property taxation and assessments under Subsection B of Section 3-60A-13 NMSA 1978 or Section 7-36-3.1 NMSA 1978, then during the period extending from the date of acquisition of the property by the local government through December 31 of a year that shall not exceed the fourteenth anniversary of that acquisition date, any lessee of the project property or owner of a substantial beneficial interest in the project property, in whose ownership the property would not be exempt from property taxation except for the exemption granted under Section 7-36-3.1 NMSA 1978, shall pay to the county treasurer annually, at the same time property tax payments are due under the Property Tax Code [Chapter 7, Articles 35 to 38 NMSA 1978], an amount equal to the sum of:

   1. (1) general property taxes that would have been imposed under Subsection B of Section 7-37-7 NMSA 1978 had it not been exempt and had it been valued at the valuation for property taxation purposes that existed in the year immediately preceding the year of acquisition by the local government;
   2. (2) amounts that would have been imposed under Subsection C of Section 7-37-7 NMSA 1978 on the project property had it not been exempt and had it been valued at the valuation for property taxation purposes that existed in the year immediately preceding the year of acquisition by the local government; and
   3. (3) amounts that would have been imposed as benefit assessments on the project property had it not been exempt and had it been valued at the valuation for property taxation purposes that existed in the year immediately preceding the year of acquisition by the local government if those benefit assessments are authorized by law and are expressed in mills per dollar or dollars per thousand dollars of net taxable value of property, assessed value of property or similar terms.
2. B. The county treasurer shall distribute all amounts collected under Subsection A of this section in the same manner as the amounts would have been distributed if they had been collected as taxes or assessments on nonexempt property.
3. C. The provisions of this section shall apply only to project property acquired by a local government under the provisions of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Code on or after January 1, 1986.

History: 1978 Comp., § 3-60A-13.1, enacted by Laws 1985, ch. 225, § 2; 2018, ch. 60, § 12; 2026, ch. 23, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

Cross references. — For constitutional provision on tax-exempt property, see N.M. Const., art. VIII, § 3.

For exemption from property tax of lessee's interests in project property, see 7-36-3.1 NMSA 1978.

The 2026 amendment, effective May 20, 2026, extended the period during which project property in a metropolitan redevelopment area is exempt from property taxation, and clarified that the extended property tax exemption period is capped at fourteen years; in Subsection A, after "December 31 of" deleted "the year in which" and added "a year that shall not exceed", and changed "seventh" to "fourteenth" preceding "anniversary".

Applicability. — Laws 2026, ch. 23, § 3 provided that the provisions of Laws 2026, ch. 23 apply to leases of project property executed on or after May 20, 2026.

The 2018 amendment, effective May 16, 2018, extended the powers and duties as identified in the Metropolitan Redevelopment Code from only municipalities to now include counties, and replaced "municipality" with "local government" throughout the section.