1. A. The board shall prioritize projects based on the following criteria:

   1. (1) urgency of need, as identified in a regional water planning area with a completed regional water plan accepted by the interstate stream commission;
   2. (2) availability of federal or local matching contributions;
   3. (3) project readiness, including the acquisition of required state and federal permits and authorizations;
   4. (4) regional impacts;
   5. (5) efforts to mitigate or alleviate a project's potential human health and safety concerns;
   6. (6) level of planning and design;
   7. (7) improvement of water quality or quantity; and
   8. (8) other goals established for each project type pursuant to the Water Project Finance Act and rules adopted under that act.

2. B. Pursuant to Subsection A of this section, the board shall give higher priority to projects that:

   1. (1) have completed planning and design;
   2. (2) provide regional impacts;
   3. (3) mitigate or alleviate human health and safety concerns; and
   4. (4) improve water quality or quantity and advance project-type specific goals established pursuant to the Water Project Finance Act.
3. C. The board shall develop and use a weighted scoring system that incorporates the criteria provided pursuant to Subsection A of this section to evaluate and rank all applications for loans and grants pursuant to the Water Project Finance Act. A ten-point score increase shall be granted in the event of an emergency situation. Recommendations for expenditure of money from the water project fund shall be based on the scoring and ranking of applications in accordance with this section.

History: Laws 2026, ch. 27, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

Effective dates. — Laws 2026, ch. 27 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective May 20, 2026, 90 days after adjournment of the legislature.