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SENATE BILL 481
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Mimi Stewart
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCES; ENACTING THE STATE FAIRGROUNDS
DISTRICT ACT; CREATING THE STATE FAIRGROUNDS DISTRICT OVER THE
LAND OWNED BY THE STATE, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE "STATE
FAIRGROUNDS", AND CONTIGUOUS LAND THAT MAY BE SUBSEQUENTLY
ACQUIRED; PROVIDING POWERS; CREATING THE STATE FAIRGROUNDS
DISTRICT BOARD; AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS AND REFUNDING
BONDS BY THE STATE FAIRGROUNDS DISTRICT; CREATING THE STATE
FAIRGROUNDS DISTRICT FUND; PROVIDING A TAX EXEMPTION FROM BONDS
AND INCOME FROM BONDS ISSUED PURSUANT TO THE STATE FAIRGROUNDS
DISTRICT ACT; MAKING DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE NET RECEIPTS
ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE GROSS RECEIPTS TAX AND GAMING TAX FROM
BUSINESS LOCATIONS ON THE STATE FAIRGROUNDS; MAKING AN
APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 10 of
this act may be cited as the "State Fairgrounds District Act"."
SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the State
Fairgrounds District Act:
A. "board" means the state fairgrounds district
board;
B. "bond" means an obligation of the district
issued pursuant to the State Fairgrounds District Act, whether
designated as a bond, note, loan, warrant, debenture, lease-
purchase agreement or other instrument evidencing an obligation
of the district to make payments;
C. "district" means the state fairgrounds district
that consists of all land owned by the state, commonly known as
the "state fairgrounds", and lying within the exterior
boundaries of the city of Albuquerque;
D. "project" means planning and design work for and
development, construction, reconstruction, enlargement,
improvement, installation, rehabilitation, remodeling and
renovation of the state fairgrounds in the district, of a new
site and facilities to host the state fair and of public
schools in the close vicinity of the district; and
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E. "property owner" means a person owning real
property within the boundaries of the district."
SECTION 3. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] STATE FAIRGROUNDS DISTRICT--CREATED--
POWERS.--
A. The "state fairgrounds district" is created as a
political subdivision of the state, separate and apart from a
municipality or county. The district consists of all land
owned by the state, commonly known as the "state fairgrounds",
lying within the exterior boundaries of the city of
Albuquerque, and land contiguous to the state fairgrounds that
may be subsequently acquired and included in the boundaries of
the district.
B. The district may:
(1) enter into contracts or expend money for
any public purpose with respect to projects of the district;
(2) enter into agreements with a municipality,
county or other local government entity in connection with real
property located within the district;
(3) enter into an intergovernmental agreement
in accordance with the Joint Powers Agreements Act for the
planning, design, inspection, ownership, control, maintenance,
operation or repair of public infrastructure or the provision
of enhanced services by the municipality or county in which the
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district lies or for any other purpose authorized the State
Fairgrounds District Act;
(4) sell, lease or otherwise dispose of
district property if the sale, lease or conveyance is not a
violation of the terms of any contract or bond covenant of the
district;
(5) reimburse a municipality or county in
which the district is located for providing services within the
area of the district;
(6) operate, maintain and repair public
infrastructure until dedicated to the governing body;
(7) employ staff, counsel, advisors and
consultants;
(8) reimburse a municipality or county in
which the district is located for staff and consultant services
and support facilities supplied by the municipality;
(9) accept gifts or grants and incur and repay
loans for a public purpose;
(10) enter into an agreement with a property
owner concerning the advance of money by the owner for a public
purpose or the granting of real property by the owner for a
public purpose with respect to a project;
(11) pay the financial, legal and
administrative costs of the district;
(12) enter into contracts, agreements and
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trust indentures to obtain credit enhancement or liquidity
support for the district's bonds and process the issuance,
registration, transfer and payment of the district's bonds and
the disbursement and investment of proceeds of the bonds;
(13) borrow money and issue bonds to fund
projects; and
(14) use public easements and rights of way in
or across public property, roadways, highways, streets or other
thoroughfares and other public easements and rights of way of
the district, municipality or county.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of the
Procurement Code or local procurement requirements that may
otherwise be applicable to the municipality in which the
district is located, the board may enter into contracts to
carry out any of the district's authorized powers, including
the planning, design, engineering, financing, construction and
acquisition of public improvements for the district, with a
contractor, a property owner or other person or entity, on such
terms and with such persons as the board determines to be
appropriate."
SECTION 4. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] STATE FAIRGROUNDS DISTRICT BOARD.--The
district shall be governed by a five-member board composed of
the governor, the lieutenant governor, a member appointed by
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the state senator representing the senate district inclusive of
the district, the Bernalillo county commissioner representing
the commission district inclusive of the district and the mayor
of the city of Albuquerque for the term of the district. The
board shall separately account for all revenues and
indebtedness based on gross receipts tax and gaming tax
distributed to the state fairgrounds district fund. The board
shall individually account for all gross receipts tax and
gaming tax distributed to the state fairgrounds district fund.
The secretary of finance and administration or the secretary's
designee shall serve as clerk and treasurer of the district."
SECTION 5. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] AUTHORIZATION OF ISSUANCE OF BONDS.--
A. The district may issue revenue bonds not to
exceed one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) in net proceeds for
projects. The district shall pledge irrevocably all of the
revenue received by the district from the gross receipts tax
distribution and the gaming tax distribution pursuant to
Sections 11 and 12 of this 2025 act to the payment of the
principal and interest of the bonds.
B. Revenue bonds or refunding bonds or loans may be
authorized only by resolution of the board, which shall be
approved by a majority of the members of the board. Prior to
the board issuing bonds, the New Mexico finance authority,
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state board of finance and state bond counsel shall approve the
proposed issuance of the bonds and determine that the proceeds
of the bonds will be used for a project, in accordance with the
State Fairgrounds District Act.
C. Revenue bonds or refunding bonds issued pursuant
to the State Fairgrounds District Act and other loans to the
district are:
(1) not general obligations of the state or
any other agency of the state; and
(2) payable only from properly pledged
revenues and each bond or loan shall state that it is payable
solely from the properly pledged revenues and that the
bondholders or lenders may not look to any other fund for the
payment of the principal and interest of the bond or the loan.
D. Bonds issued pursuant to the State Fairgrounds
District Act:
(1) may have principal value, interest or any
part thereof payable at intervals or at maturity as may be
determined by the board;
(2) may be subject to a prior redemption at
the district's option at a time and upon terms and conditions,
with or without the payment of a premium, as determined by the
board;
(3) may mature at any time not exceeding
twenty-five years after the date of issuance;
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(4) may be serial in form and maturity, may
consist of one bond payable at one time or in installments or
may be in another form determined by the board;
(5) shall be sold for cash at, above or below
par and at a price that results in a net effective interest
rate that does not exceed the maximum permitted by the Public
Securities Act and the Public Securities Short-Term Interest
Rate Act; and
(6) may be sold at public or negotiated sale."
SECTION 6. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] REFUNDING BONDS.--
A. After issuing bonds in accordance with the State
Fairgrounds District Act, the board may issue refunding bonds
for the purpose of refinancing, paying and discharging all or
any part of outstanding bonds for the:
(1) acceleration, deceleration or other
modification of the payment of the outstanding bonds,
including, without limitation, any capitalization of any
interest on the outstanding bonds in arrears or about to become
due for any period not exceeding two years from the date of the
refunding bonds;
(2) purpose of reducing interest costs or
effecting other economies; or
(3) purpose of modifying or eliminating
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restrictive contractual limitations:
(a) pertaining to the issuance of
additional bonds; or
(b) concerning the outstanding bonds or
facilities relating to the outstanding bonds.
B. The board shall pledge irrevocably for the
payment of principal, interest and premium, if any, on
refunding bonds the revenues received from distributions of the
gross receipts tax and gaming tax pursuant to Sections 11 and
12 of this 2025 act, which may be pledged to an original issue
of bonds, and the terms of refunding bonds shall expire not
more than twenty-five years after the date of the original
issue of bonds.
C. Refunding bonds may be issued separately or in
combination in one series or more.
D. Refunding bonds may be authorized only by
resolution of the board. Bonds that are refunded shall be paid
at maturity or on any permitted prior redemption date in the
amounts, at the time and places and, if called prior to
maturity, in accordance with any applicable notice provisions,
all as provided in the proceedings authorizing the issuance of
the refunded bonds or otherwise appertaining to them, except
for any such bond that is voluntarily surrendered for exchange
or payment by the holder or owner.
E. The principal amount of the refunding bonds may
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exceed the principal amount of the refunded bonds and may also
be less than or the same as the principal amount of the bonds
being refunded if provision is duly and sufficiently made for
the payment of the refunded bonds.
F. The proceeds of refunding bonds, including
accrued interest and premiums appertaining to the sale of
refunding bonds, shall be immediately applied to the retirement
of the bonds being refunded or placed in escrow in a commercial
bank or trust company that possesses and exercises trust powers
and that is a member of the federal deposit insurance
corporation. The proceeds shall be applied to the principal
of, interest on and any prior redemption premium due in
connection with the bonds being refunded; provided that the
refunding bond proceeds, including premiums and accrued
interest appertaining to a sale of refunding bonds, may be
applied to the establishment and maintenance of a reserve fund
and to the payment of expenses incidental to the refunding and
the issuance of the refunding bonds, the principal of those
bonds and the interest of those bonds or both principal and
interest as the board determines. This section does not
require the establishment of an escrow if the refunded bonds
and the amounts necessary to retire the refunded bonds within
that time are deposited with the paying agent for the refunded
bonds. Any such escrow shall not necessarily be limited to
proceeds of refunding bonds but may include other money
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available for its purpose. Proceeds in escrow pending such use
may be invested or reinvested in bills, certificates of
indebtedness, notes or bonds that are direct obligations of, or
the principal and interest of which obligations are
unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States or in
certificates of deposit of banks that are members of the
federal deposit insurance corporation; provided that the par
value of the certificates of deposit is collateralized by a
pledge of obligations or by a pledge of payment that is
unconditionally guaranteed by the United States; and further
provided that the par value of those obligations is at least
seventy-five percent of the par value of the certificates of
deposit. Such proceeds and investments in escrow, together
with any interest or other income to be derived from any such
investment, shall be in an amount at all times sufficient as to
principal, interest, any prior redemption premium due and any
charges of the escrow agent payable from the escrow to pay the
bonds being refunded as they become due at their respective
maturities or at any designated prior redemption date or dates
in connection with which the prior redemption option shall be
exercised. A purchaser of a refunding bond issued is not
responsible for the application of the proceeds by the district
or any of its officers, agents or employees.
G. Refunding bonds may bear additional terms and
provisions as determined by the board subject to the
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limitations in this section relating to original bond issues.
H. District refunding bonds:
(1) may have principal value, interest or any
part thereof payable at intervals or at maturity, as determined
by the board;
(2) may be subject to prior redemption at the
board's option at a time or times and upon terms and conditions
with or without payment of premium or premiums, as determined
by the board;
(3) may be serial in form and maturity or may
consist of a single bond payable in one or more installments or
may be in another form, as determined by the board; and
(4) shall be exchanged for the bonds and any
matured unpaid interest being refunded at not less than par or
sold at public or negotiated sale at, above or below par and at
a price that results in a net effective interest rate that does
not exceed the maximum permitted by the Public Securities Act.
I. At a regular or special meeting, the board may
adopt a resolution by majority vote to authorize the issuance
of the refunding bonds."
SECTION 7. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] TAX MODIFICATIONS--BOND TERMS.--Nothing
herein shall prohibit the legislature from increasing or
decreasing the state gross receipts tax. The terms and
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conditions of any bond issued by the district pursuant to the
State Fairgrounds Act shall explicitly provide that the
repayment of such bonds, including interest and principal, is
subject to modifications based on the increase or decrease in
taxes imposed by the state."
SECTION 8. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] STATE FAIRGROUNDS DISTRICT FUND.--The
"state fairgrounds district fund" is created in the state
treasury. The fund consists of distributions, appropriations,
gifts, grants, donations and income from investment of the
fund. The board shall administer the fund. Money in the fund
is appropriated to the board for the issuance and payment of
bonds pursuant to the State Fairgrounds District Act.
Expenditures from the fund shall be by warrant of the secretary
of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by
the secretary of finance and administration or the secretary's
authorized representative. Any unexpended or unencumbered
balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2051 shall revert
to the general fund."
SECTION 9. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION.--The bonds
authorized by the State Fairgrounds District Act and the income
from the bonds or any other instrument executed as security for
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the bonds shall be exempt from all taxation by the state or any
political subdivision of the state."
SECTION 10. A new section of Chapter 6 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] REPORT REQUIRED.--By September 1 of each
year, beginning in 2025 and continuing until 2052, the board
shall report to the state board of finance and the legislative
finance committee on the implementation of the State
Fairgrounds District Act and expenditures to date, bonds
issued, debt service reserve funds held, progress made toward
retiring the bonds, estimated capital investment in the
district, the estimated total net new jobs and new full-time
economic base jobs created in the district and the total
revenues distributed to the district in each previous fiscal
year."
SECTION 11. A new section of the Tax Administration Act
is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] DISTRIBUTION--STATE FAIRGROUNDS
DISTRICT.--A distribution pursuant to Section 7-1-6.1 NMSA 1978
shall be made to the state fairgrounds district fund in an
amount, subject to any increase or decrease made pursuant to
Section 7-1-6.15 NMSA 1978, equal to the net receipts
attributable to the gross receipts tax from business locations
on land owned by the state, commonly known as the "state
fairgrounds", and lying within the exterior boundaries of the
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city of Albuquerque. This distribution shall be made until the
bonds issued pursuant to the State Fairgrounds District Act are
fully discharged or otherwise provided for in full."
SECTION 12. A new section of the Gaming Control Act is
enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] DISTRIBUTION--STATE FAIRGROUNDS
DISTRICT.--A distribution pursuant to Section 7-1-6.1 NMSA 1978
shall be made to the state fairgrounds district fund in an
amount, subject to any increase or decrease made pursuant to
Section 7-1-6.15 NMSA 1978, equal to the net receipts
attributable to the gaming tax from business locations on land
owned by the state, commonly known as the "state fairgrounds",
and lying within the exterior boundaries of the city of
Albuquerque. This distribution shall be made until the bonds
issued pursuant to the State Fairgrounds District Act are fully
discharged or otherwise provided for in full."
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