A. A majority of the members of the governing body of a municipality that desires to become a member of a regional spaceport district pursuant to the Regional Spaceport District Act [5-16-1 to 5-16-13 NMSA 1978] shall impose by ordinance an excise tax at a rate not to exceed one-half percent of the gross receipts of a person engaging in business in the municipality for the privilege of engaging in business. A tax imposed pursuant to this section may be imposed by one or more ordinances, each imposing any number of tax rate increments, but an increment shall not be less than one-sixteenth percent of the gross receipts of a person engaging in business in the municipality, and the aggregate of all rates shall not exceed one-half percent of the gross receipts of a person engaging in business in the municipality. The tax may be referred to as the "municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax".

B. A governing body, at the time of enacting an ordinance imposing a tax authorized in Subsection A of this section, shall dedicate a minimum of seventy-five percent of the revenue to a regional spaceport district for the financing, planning, designing, engineering and construction of a regional spaceport pursuant to the Regional Spaceport District Act and may dedicate no more than twenty-five percent of the revenue for spaceport-related projects as approved by resolution of the governing body of the municipality.

C. An ordinance imposing a municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax shall not go into effect until after an election is held and a majority of the voters of the municipality voting in the election votes in favor of imposing the tax. The governing body shall adopt a resolution calling for an election within seventy-five 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 municipality as a separate question at a regular local election or at a special election called for that purpose by the governing body. An election shall be called, conducted and canvassed as provided in the Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978]. If a majority of the voters voting on the question approves the ordinance imposing the municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax, the ordinance shall become effective in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Local Option Gross Receipts Taxes Act. If the question of imposing the municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax fails, the governing body shall not again propose the imposition of an increment of the tax for a period of one year from the date of the election.

D. The governing body of a municipality imposing the municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax shall transfer a minimum of seventy-five percent of all proceeds from the tax to the regional spaceport district of which it is a member for regional spaceport purposes in accordance with the provisions of the Regional Spaceport District Act. The governing body of a municipality imposing the municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax may retain no more than twenty-five percent of the municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax for spaceport-related projects as approved by resolution of the governing body.

History: Laws 2006, ch. 15, § 14; 2018, ch. 79, § 78.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, provided that elections called to approve or disapprove an ordinance imposing a municipal regional spaceport gross receipts tax shall be called, conducted and canvassed as provided in the Local Election Act, and made technical and conforming changes; and in Subsection C, after "at a regular", deleted "municipal" and added "local", after "governing body.", deleted "A special municipal" and added "An", and after "as provided in the", deleted "Municipal Election Code" and added "Local Election Act".

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 174 provided that references in law to the Municipal Election Code and to the School Election Law shall be deemed to be references to the Local Election Act.