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 Spring • 2015 11 • The taxation and revenue department will establish proce- dures for the allocation and assignment of the credit. The bill was signed by the Governor. Uniform Law: HB 85 amends the UCC and the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Under the UCC modifications: • As leases for goods only (not real property), the bill clarifies to which other section of UCC Article 2A a lessor should re- fer regarding damages for breach of a lease, which can oc- cur when a lessee refuses to accept the leased goods, fails to make payments on the lease, repudiates the lease or other- wise fails to perform the bargain in a manner that impairs the value of the lease; and • As to processing of negotiable instruments, particularly pay- ment orders (bank check) cancellations and amendments, the bill allows the designation of different cut-off times for different categories of these items. The modifications to the act include: • Changes name to Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (UVTA); • Clarifies that the presumption of insolvency does not apply when a debt remains unpaid due to a bona fide dispute, and that otherwise the presumption of insolvency imposes on the debtor the burden of proving the nonexistence of insol- vency is more probably than its existence; • Clarifies the creditor has the burden of proof (by a prepon - derance of the evidence) when seeking to void a transfer or obligation in certain circumstances; • Clarifies that a recipient of transferred goods can defend against voiding a transaction that transferred goods to the recipient if the recipient exchanged fair value for them; that a creditor can void a transaction only against a party that received the goods directly from the debtor or received and passed them on to another party; allows voiding of a trans- action when the enforcement of a security interest involves acceptance of factored collateral; and burdens of proof for various matters related to creditors voiding transactions; • Adds a new section determining a debtor’s location (res- idence, only place of business or chief executive office), which in turn determines the law governing enforcement of the Act; and • Adds a new section governing protected series organiza- tions, a business form in which more than one distinct entity is formed as part of a larger business enterprise. Risks and liabilities are attributed to a component part rather than the greater whole when incurred by that component, and to the whole series when they are incurred by the series. The bill was signed by the Governor. Escrow: SB 412 (amends the Escrow Company Act) to re- quire a licensee to submit with a license renewal a copy of the company’s tax returns and a copy of reconciliations and bank statements for 3 months immediately preceding the renewal application. A surety bond of $50,000 is required of a licensee. The act also provides that 10 days following a buyer depositing the final payment on account, the licensee must send a notice to the seller and the buyer of property containing a final statement of account. The bill was signed by the Governor. Public Records: HB 324 tightens the requirements for fil - ing a duplicate written document with the county clerk when the original instrument of writing is not available. The bill was vetoed by the Governor. Legislation Not Enacted by the Legislature: Right to Work: Several bills were introduced to prohibit membership in a labor union as a condition for employment. Increase in Minimum Wage: Several bills were intro- duced providing for an increase in the minimum wage ranging from $8.00 to $10.10 per hour. Transportation Network Services Act: HB 272, the Transportation Network Services Act, would have provided for the regulation of such ride-booking companies as Uber and Lyft. Data Breach Notification Act: HB 217 included provision to require notice to be given to residents when personal identi- fying information is reasonable believed to have been subject to a security breach in not less than 45 days of discovery of breach. The bill exempted entities subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley from the Act. NewMexico is one of 3 states without a data breach law. Usury: Several bills were introduced providing for an interest rate cap of 36% on certain loans made under the Bank Install- ment Loan Act and NM Small Loan Act. Banks were exempt. Foreclosure: There were 8 bills introduced this session re- lating to foreclosure process and procedure including HB 26 (Foreclosure Fairness Act); SB 27 (Foreclosure Process Task Force); SB 28 (Pre-purchase Homebuyers Education Program); SB 29 (Deficiency Judgments); SB 30 (Home Loan Loss Mitiga - tion Servicing Standards Act); SB 141 (Foreclosure Settlement Facilitation Conferences); SB 142 (Foreclosure by Judicial Ac- tion on Home Loans; SB 143 (Judgment Notices); SB 122 (Ex- pedited Foreclosure). Trust Legislation: There were five bills introduced this session intended to en - hance trust business development in New Mexico, including: • HB 183 (Rule Against Perpetuities Revision); • HB 406 (amended the Income Tax Act to provide a deduc- tion from net income of an estate or trust in the amount of permanent distributions to a nonresident beneficiary) was included in House Ways and Means Committee tax package which died on the last day of the session; • HBs 124 and 184 (Uniform Trust Code revisions) and • HB 185 (Uniform Principal and Income Act revisions). Public Funds: SB 175 would have included brokered cer- tificates of deposit offered on the primary or secondary market among those investments that the state treasurer and local gov- ernment treasurers may have utilized. The bill also authorized federally insured certificate of deposit account registry services (CDARS) and federally insured cash accounts. Taxation: SB 56 would have required combined corporate income tax reporting for all unitary corporations. n 2015 LEGISLATIVE RECAP  continued on page 12