Pub. 12 2015 Issue 1

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S 10 This past session there were 695 bills introduced in the Sen- ate and 590 in the House for a total of 1285. A total of 191bills passed both chambers (102 Senate bills and 89 House bills). This was the fewest bills that have been approved by the Legis- lature during a 60-day session in decades. The Governor vetoed 33 of the 191 bills approved by the Legislature. The Governor has said that if Democratic leaders in the Sen- ate commit to working with her to pass a public works pack- age similar to that which died in the last day of the session, she would consider calling a special session. That bill died in the Senate in large part due to partisan differences over how to fund transportation-related projects. The administration generally favored using long-term debt to pay for transportation projects, while many in the Senate favored increasing the gas tax to fund highway improvements. The failure to approve a public works bill marked the first time since 2011 that capital outlay was not funded. It is anticipated that the Governor may call the Legis- lature back in special session in May to consider a compromise on a capital outlay bill. Bills Enacted by the Legislature and Action Taken by Governor: Budget: HB2, the budget contains $37.5 million for the Local Economic Development Act fund to assist the state in recruiting new businesses, $7.5 million in job-training-funding and $1.25 million to increase advertising andmarketing efforts for the State Tourism Department. The bill was signed by the Governor. Assignment of Film Production Tax Credit: Committee Substitute for House Bill 216 adds a new section to the Film Production Tax Credit Act, which will allow a film production company which is eligible to receive a film production tax cred - it, to assign that tax credit to a third-party financial institution or to an investment fund that is created to produce films. The bill provides: • The credit may be assigned to a bank, savings institution or credit union, provided that the financial institution files a New Mexico income tax return. The credit may also be as- signed to a “fund purposely created to produce a film.” • The credit may be assigned, one time in a full or partial amount, where the authorized third party holds the rights to a film eligible for a film production tax credit. 2015 Legislative Recap/Congressional Update T he 2015 60-day legislative session ended on Saturday, March 21. When all was said and done, the Legislature passed a $6.2 billion budget but failed to enact a $265 million public works package or a $4.8 million tax incentive bill. The fighting and finger-pointing contributed to the bitter end of the session in which gridlock was the order of the day. ABA Chairman John Ikard, Governor Susana Martinez, ABA President Frank Keating. John Anderson, Tracy Francis, Sheila Mathews, John Dowling, Jay Jenkins, Governor Martinez, John Gulas, Ken Clayton, Paul DiPaola, Jason Wyatt.