SENATE BILL 291
46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004
INTRODUCED BY
William H. Payne
AN ACT
RELATING TO NATURAL LANDS PROTECTION; REQUIRING A PERCENTAGE OF ANNUAL SEVERANCE TAX BONDING CAPACITY TO BE USED TO ACQUIRE UNIQUE AND ECOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT LANDS IN NEW MEXICO; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. A new section of the Severance Tax Bonding Act is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] BONDING CAPACITY--AUTHORIZATION FOR SEVERANCE TAX BONDS--NATURAL LANDS PROTECTION--APPROPRIATION.--
A. By January 15 of each year, the board of finance division of the department of finance and administration shall estimate the amount of bonding capacity available for severance tax bonds to be authorized by the legislature. The division shall deduct one million dollars ($1,000,000) from the estimated amount, and the legislature authorizes the state board of finance to issue severance tax bonds in that amount to acquire unique and ecologically significant land pursuant to the Natural Lands Protection Act.
B. The secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources shall certify to the state board of finance the need for issuance of the bonds for natural lands acquisition. The state board of finance shall issue and sell the bonds in the same manner as other severance tax bonds in an amount not to exceed the authorized amount provided in Subsection A of this section. The state board of finance shall take appropriate steps to comply with the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds are appropriated to the energy, minerals and natural resources department for natural lands acquisition.
C. Money from the severance tax bonds provided for in this section shall not be used to pay indirect project costs. Any unexpended balance from the proceeds of severance tax bonds issued pursuant to this section shall revert to the severance tax bonding fund at the end of the fiscal year three years following the fiscal year in which the bonds were issued."
Section 2. Section 75-5-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 192, Section 1) is amended to read:
"75-5-1. SHORT TITLE.--[Sections 1 through 6 of this act] Chapter 75, Article 5 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Natural Lands Protection Act"."
Section 3. Section 75-5-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 192, Section 3) is amended to read:
"75-5-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Natural Lands Protection Act:
A. "committee" means the natural lands protection committee;
B. "unique and ecologically significant lands" are lands [which] that:
(1) afford habitat for species listed as rare, threatened or endangered by the state or federal government; and
(2) are identified by the energy, minerals and natural resources department as constituting the best remaining examples of native ecological communities that are otherwise unprotected; and
C. "corporation" means a New Mexico not-for-profit corporation whose primary purpose is the preservation and conservation of lands."
Section 4. Section 75-5-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 192, Section 4) is amended to read:
"75-5-4. ADMINISTRATION OF THE ACT.--
A. The Natural Lands Protection Act shall be administered by the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources in consultation with [a] the "natural lands protection committee", [consisting] which consists of the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, who shall serve as chairman of the committee, the director of the department of game and fish, the commissioner of public lands, the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture and three public members appointed by the governor, one of whom shall represent the ranching or farming industry.
B. The secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources shall present a list of projects to the committee based on priorities generated by the energy, minerals and natural resources department.
C. The committee shall recommend lands to be acquired under the provisions of the Natural Lands Protection Act and, subject to appropriation for such purpose by the legislature, pay the state's share of acquisitions. No land shall be acquired unless a corporation jointly acquires the land with the state. A corporation [must] shall participate in acquiring a minimum of at least ten percent undivided interest in the land or the state cannot participate in the acquisition. Title to lands acquired shall be held as cotenants having undivided interests in proportion to the state's and the corporation's share of the acquisition and shall be held in the name of the state [of New Mexico] and the corporation.
D. Priority among projects qualified under the Natural Lands Protection Act shall be determined in descending order as follows:
(1) the degree to which the lands in question are subject to the threat of immediate alteration or destruction;
(2) the degree to which ecosystems in question are unduplicated elsewhere; and
(3) usefulness for teaching and research."
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