A. The "community governance attorney and conditional tuition waiver fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of money appropriated, donated or otherwise accruing to the fund. All payments for repayment of waivers and penalties shall be credited to the fund. Balances in the fund shall not revert to any other fund at the end of a fiscal year.

B. Expenditures from the fund shall only be used to make waivers to participants in the program, to pay contracts for community governance attorney services and to pay the administrative expenses associated with the program and collection activity on its behalf; provided that no more than five percent of the annual expenditures from the fund shall be for administrative costs. The department shall require an annual accounting from each organization receiving funds pursuant to this section.

C. All waiver loan payments shall be by warrant drawn by the secretary upon vouchers signed by the designated representative of the department. All disbursements from the fund for community governance attorney services shall be by warrant drawn by the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of higher education or the secretary's designee. Money in the fund is subject to appropriation by the legislature to the department for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of the Community Governance Attorney Act.

D. Money disbursed pursuant to this section shall not be used by a recipient to:

(1) support lobbying, as defined in the Lobbyist Regulation Act [Chapter 2, Article 11 NMSA 1978]; or

(2) bring suit against the state.

History: Laws 2019, ch. 43, § 5.

Effective dates. — Laws 2019, ch. 43, § 6 made Laws 2019, ch. 43 effective July 1, 2019.