A. Bonds issued by a municipality under authority of the Industrial Revenue Bond Act shall not be the general obligation of the municipality within the meaning of Article 9, Sections 12 and 13 of the constitution of New Mexico. The bonds shall be payable solely out of the revenue derived from the projects for which the bonds are issued. Bonds and interest coupons, if any, issued under authority of the Industrial Revenue Bond Act shall never constitute an indebtedness of the municipality within the meaning of any state constitutional provision or statutory limitation and shall never constitute or give rise to a pecuniary liability of the municipality or a charge against its general credit or taxing powers, and such fact shall be plainly stated on the face of each bond.

B. The bonds may be executed and delivered at any time, and from time to time, may be in such form and denominations, may be of such tenor, may be in registered or bearer form either as to principal or interest or both, may be payable in such installments and at such time or times not exceeding thirty years from their date, may be payable at such place or places, may bear interest at such rate or rates payable at such place or places and evidenced in such manner and may contain such provisions not inconsistent with the Industrial Revenue Bond Act, all as shall be provided in the ordinance and proceedings of the governing body under which the bonds are authorized to be issued.

C. Bonds issued under the authority of the Industrial Revenue Bond Act may be sold at public or private sale in such manner and from time to time as may be determined by the governing body to be most advantageous, and the municipality may pay all expenses, attorney, engineering and architects' fees, premiums and commissions that the governing body may deem necessary or advantageous in connection with the authorization, sale and issuance of the bonds.

D. Bonds issued under the authority of the Industrial Revenue Bond Act and all interest coupons applicable thereto, if any, shall be construed to be negotiable.

E. A bond shall not be issued by a municipality having a population of more than forty thousand according to the most recent decennial census to finance a project that is valued at eight million dollars ($8,000,000) or more unless an employer of the project:

(1) offers to its employees and their dependents health insurance coverage that is in compliance with the New Mexico Insurance Code [Chapter 59A, except for Articles 30A and 42A NMSA 1978] or a comparable health benefits plan pursuant to the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; and

(2) contributes not less than fifty percent of the premium for the health care coverage for those employees who choose to enroll; provided that the fifty percent employer contribution shall not be a requirement for the dependent coverage that is offered.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-31-4, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1983, ch. 265, § 7; 2003, ch. 360, § 1.

Cross references. — For destruction of documentary evidence of extinguished public debt, see 6-10-62 NMSA 1978.

For the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, see 29 U.S.C.S. § 1001 et seq.

The 2003 amendment, effective January 1, 2004, added Subsection E.

Payment of fees permitted. — There is no merit in the claim that provision for payment of attorneys', architects' and engineers' fees from proceeds of the revenue bonds invalidated a statute authorizing the issuance of bonds by municipalities to finance projects for the purpose of promoting industry and trade. Village of Deming v. Hosdreg Co., 1956-NMSC-111, 62 N.M. 18, 303 P.2d 920.

Guaranteed bonds. — Industrial revenue bonds guaranteed by a corporation, where the guarantee is inserted into the body of the bonds, cannot exist under the Industrial Revenue Bond Act, and municipalities have no power to issue such bonds. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-219.

Law reviews. — For article, "Ad Valorem Tax Status of a Private Lessee's Interest in Publicly Owned Property: Taxability of Possessory Interests in Industrial Projects under the New Mexico Industrial Revenue Bond Act," see 3 N.M.L. Rev. 136 (1973).