NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature. The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.
| SPONSOR: | Stell | DATE TYPED: | 03/08/99 | HB | 96/aSCONC | ||
| SHORT TITLE: | District Assessment Notice | SB | |||||
| ANALYST: | L. Kehoe | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY99 | FY2000 | FY99 | FY2000 | ||
| NFI | NFI | NFI | NFI | N/A | N/A |
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
New Mexico Finance Authority
LFC Files
SUMMARY
Synopsis of SCONC Amendment
Senate Conservation amendment to House Bill 96 adds an emergency clause to the bill. The provisions of the bill would become effective immediately upon a signature by the governor.
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 96 allows soil and water districts to pledge their real property assessments, including municipal property unless specifically excluded, to NMFA debt, thereby allowing the New Mexico Finance Authority to make loans to Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
Significant Issues
Soil and water conservation districts presently have the authority to borrow money for the purpose of acquiring rights-of-way and establishing, constructing, reconstructing, repairing, enlarging and maintaining the structure and improvements required by the district in the performance of its functions. The repayment of these loans are made with the proceeds of an annual real property assessment. The districts have the authority to pledge their real property assessment to debt, and to indebt themselves to state instrumentalities.
The NMFA Act contains a provision that states that wherever the term "instrumentality" is used anywhere in the statutes, that it does not refer to NMFA unless the NMFA is specifically mentioned. House Bill 96 specifically refers to the NMFA, thereby allows the NMFA to make loans to soil and water conservation districts and allows an extension for debt of the NMFA.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
According to the New Mexico Finance Authority, soil and water conservation districts are public entities that pay governmental gross receipts tax, but without the passage of House Bill 96, the districts would not be able to take advantage of NMFA loan programs.
LK/prr:njw