Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Shendo
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/14/25
SHORT TITLE
Reporting of Economic Development
Incentives
BILL
NUMBER Senate Bill 158
ANALYST Rodriguez/Gray
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected EDD No fiscal impact No fiscal impact No fiscal impact No fiscal impact Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Economic Development Department (EDD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate Bill 158
Senate Bill 158 (SB158) adds reporting requirements for the state’s flagship economic
development programs to statute. Currently, the Economic Development Department (EDD)
internally collects and monitors performance data regarding the Local Economic Development
Act (LEDA) and the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP). By practice, the department shares
this information with the Legislature and the public. This bill would formalize that practice into
statute.
For LEDA, the bill requires the department to report each year to the Legislature:
The amount of public support provided,
The amount of committed capital investment,
The anticipated and actualized number of jobs created and corresponding wages, and
The actual economic impact of projects.
For JTIP, the bill requires the department to report each year to the Legislature:
The number of individuals trained and the corresponding wages, and
The actual economic impact of the project.
SB158 also provides clarifying language to allow the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) to
request proprietary technical information from the department for evaluation purposes. This is a Senate Bill 158 – Page 2
provision intended to ensure that none of the reporting requirements required in section 1 and
section 4 are prohibited by other sections of state law.
The effective date of this bill is July 1, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
This bill has no fiscal implications because EDD already evaluates potential companies for
LEDA, collects data on awarded projects for JTIP and LEDA, and compiles an annual report on
LEDA projects. EDD staff already provide the information covered by this bill to the
Legislature, meaning SB158 would not create new demands on EDD staff time and resources.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
In 2025, the Legislature appropriated $350 thousand to the Legislative Finance Committee to
enhance its ability to evaluate economic development programs. This legislation is connected to
that effort to ensure that as evaluation work begins the data currently available remains available.
A 2022 LFC program evaluation, Impacts of Past Local Economic Development Act and Job
Incentive Training Program Investments, found that LEDA and JTIP resulted in fewer jobs than
predicted and EDD sometimes failed to claw back funds from companies that failed to meet
employment requirements. The evaluation also noted the state could improve how it monitors
post-investment impacts of the programs. EDD began an effort to do this for LEDA in 2022,
after proposing additional performance measures in 2019 to provide greater information on
program results.
Currently, the Legislature receives economic development reporting based on a patchwork of
law and practice. The table below summarizes each of SB158’s reporting requirements, whether
that component is currently reported, and whether that reporting is provided by practice or
required pursuant to the General Appropriation Act (GAA). Some data is reported to the
Legislature quarterly and summarized in the Legislative Finance Committee’s quarterly agency
performance reports. Other data is reported annually and is summarized in the Legislative
Finance Committee’s budget publications (i.e., Policy and Performance Analysis or
Supplemental Charts and Graphs).
Program SB158 Required Reporting Component
Currently
Reported to
Legislature?
Why is
Component
Reported?
Reported
Annually or
Quarterly?
LEDA
Total state support
By practice annually
Name of project By practice annually
Amount of support By practice annually
Amount of private capital investment By practice annually
Number of jobs expected to be created GAA quarterly
Average wage of jobs expected to be created By practice quarterly
Number of jobs actually created By practice quarterly
Average wage of jobs actually created By practice quarterly
Economic impact By practice annually
JTIP
Number of trainees
GAA quarterly
Average wage of trainees By practice quarterly
City or county of business By practice annually
Economic impact By practice annually Senate Bill 158 – Page 3
Of the 13 reporting components required by SB158, all 13 are currently reported to the
Legislature. However, only two components are reported pursuant to state law through the GAA.
This presents a possible obstacle for the Legislature. If an executive administration were to
decide to change current practice and stop certain reporting components, the Legislature would
be without recourse. What’s more, even those reporting requirements provided through the GAA
may be subject to a line-item veto like all provisions of the GAA.
SB158 provides specificity on what oversight is needed and requires that oversight data be
shared with the Legislature. Adding reporting criteria to the statute could result in more
accountability and transparency on the outputs and return on investment for LEDA and JTIP
across administrations. Without statutory guardrails, different administrations may report
different data for these two key economic development programs.
EDD has taken several rulemaking steps to solidify its reporting standards. For LEDA, the
department established rules in 2023 to clarify project eligibility, reimbursements, reporting
requirements for participating companies, and project closeout. New Mexico Administrative
Code 2.94.1.9 requires EDD to collect actual economic impact data to prepare a final economic
impact analysis and demonstrate return on investment. For JTIP, the industrial training board—
which is attached to EDD—administers board reviews and oversees JTIP funds to ensure that
“[funds] will generate business activity” and grow the New Mexico economy. As part of its
oversight function, the board publishes monthly information, including recipients, award
amounts, and jobs that are expected to be created. The department’s rule also allows for yearly
follow-ups with participating companies to show effectiveness, which can include trainee
retention and wages.
EDD’s analysis asserts that the requirements provided by section 2 and section 3 of the bill will
“greatly deter a company’s confidence in its protection” and could have a cooling effect on
economic development activities. This analysis disputes that assertion because those provisions
only allow data provided pursuant to those sections to be used for evaluations. That data cannot
be published unless it is sufficiently anonymized. What’s more, the information required under
SB158 is already provided to the Legislature.
JR/BG/SL2