Section 7-20E-20 - County education gross receipts tax; authority to impose; rate; election; use of revenue. - New Mexico Statutes

7-20E-20. County education gross receipts tax; authority to impose; rate; election; use of revenue.

A.     Upon submission of a resolution to the governing body pursuant to Subsection C of this section, the governing body of a county shall enact an ordinance imposing an excise tax at a rate of one-half of one percent on any person engaging in business in the county for the privilege of engaging in business in the county. The tax imposed pursuant to this subsection may be referred to as the "county education gross receipts tax".   

B.     The governing body, at the time of enacting an ordinance imposing a county education gross receipts tax pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall dedicate the revenue only for the payment of county education gross receipts tax bonds for public school capital projects and off-campus instruction program capital projects, if any, in the county. The tax shall be imposed for the period necessary for payment of the principal and interest on the county education gross receipts tax revenue bonds issued to accomplish the purpose for which the revenue is dedicated, but the period shall not exceed ten years from the effective date of the ordinance imposing the tax.   

C.     Upon a finding of need, the boards of every school district in a county that is either located wholly within the exterior boundaries of the county or that has a student membership no more than ten percent of whom reside outside the exterior boundaries of the county may enter into a joint agreement to submit a resolution to the governing body of the county requiring the governing body to impose a county education gross receipts tax and to issue county education gross receipts tax revenue bonds for funding public school capital projects and, if applicable, off-campus instruction program capital projects. The boards must agree to provide at least one-fourth of the bond proceeds for capital projects for an off-campus instruction program, if one of the school districts in the county has established such a program. The remaining revenues shall be distributed proportionately to each school district for public school capital outlay projects based on the ratio that the population of each school district, according to the 2000 federal decennial census, bears to the population of all of the school districts in the county who are parties to the agreement.   

D.     An ordinance imposing the county education gross receipts tax shall not go into effect until after an election is held and a majority of the voters in the county voting in the election votes in favor of imposing the tax. The governing body shall adopt a resolution calling for an election within sixty days of the date the ordinance is adopted on the question of imposing the tax. The question shall be submitted to the voters of the county as a separate question at a general election or at a special election called for that purpose by the governing body. A special election shall be called, conducted and canvassed in substantially the same manner as provided by law for general elections. If a majority of the voters voting on the question approves the ordinance imposing the county education gross receipts tax, then the ordinance shall become effective in accordance with the provisions of the County Local Option Gross Receipts Taxes Act [7-20E-1 NMSA 1978]. If the question of imposing the county education gross receipts tax fails, a resolution from the boards of school districts in the county may not again be proposed to the governing body requesting imposition of the tax for a period of one year from the date of the election.   

E.     The proceeds from county education gross receipts tax revenue bonds shall be administered by the governing body and disbursed by the county treasurer to the respective school districts in the amounts and for the purposes authorized in this section and as set out in the resolution submitted by the boards to the governing body.   

F.     As used in this section:   

(1)     "board" means the governing body of a school district;   

(2)     "capital projects" means the designing, constructing and equipping of new buildings; the remodeling, renovating or making additions to and equipping existing buildings; or the improving or equipping of the grounds surrounding buildings;   

(3)     "county" means:   

(a)     a class B county with a population of less than twenty-five thousand according to the 1990 federal decennial census and a net taxable value for property tax purposes for the 1999 property tax year of more than five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000);   

(b)     a county that has imposed a local hospital gross receipts tax pursuant to the Local Hospital Gross Receipts Tax Act [7-20C-1 NMSA 1978], which tax will expire on December 31, 2001; and   

(c)     a county in which the question of imposing school district general obligation debt for public school capital outlay projects has been submitted to the voters and has failed to pass at least twice in at least two school districts in the county in the six-year period immediately prior to imposition of a county education gross receipts tax; and   

(4)     "off-campus instruction program" means a program established by a school district pursuant to the Off-Campus Instruction Act [21-14A-1 NMSA 1978].