As used in the Education Technology Equipment Act:

A. "debt" means an obligation payable from ad valorem property tax revenues or the general fund of a school district and that may be secured by the full faith and credit of a school district and a pledge of its taxing powers;

B. "department" means the public education department;

C. "education technology equipment" means tools used in the educational process that constitute learning and administrative resources and may include:

(1) closed-circuit television systems; educational television and radio broadcasting; cable television, satellite, copper and fiber-optic transmission; computer, network connection devices; digital communications equipment (voice, video and data); servers; switches; portable media such as discs and drives to contain data for electronic storage and playback; and purchase or lease of software licenses or other technologies and services, maintenance, equipment and computer infrastructure information, techniques and tools used to implement technology in schools and related facilities;

(2) improvements, alterations and modifications to, or expansions of, existing buildings or personal property necessary or advisable to house or otherwise accommodate any of the tools listed in Paragraph (1) of this subsection; and

(3) expenditures for technical support and training expenses of school district employees who administer education technology projects funded by a lease-purchase arrangement and may include training by contractors;

D. "eligible charter school" means a locally chartered or state-chartered charter school located within the geographic boundaries of a school district:

(1) that timely provides the information necessary to identify the lease-purchase education technology equipment needed in the charter school to be included in the local school board resolution for lease-purchase of education technology equipment; and

(2) for which the proposed lease-purchase of education technology equipment is included in the school district's approved technology master plan;

E. "lease-purchase arrangement" means a financing arrangement constituting debt of a school district pursuant to which periodic lease payments composed of principal and interest components are to be paid to the holder of the lease-purchase arrangement and pursuant to which the owner of the education technology equipment may retain title to or a security interest in the equipment and may agree to release the security interest or transfer title to the equipment to the school district for nominal consideration after payment of the final periodic lease payment. "Lease-purchase arrangement" also means any debt of the school district incurred for the purpose of acquiring education technology equipment pursuant to the Education Technology Equipment Act whether designated as a general obligation lease, note or other instrument evidencing a debt of the school district;

F. "local school board" means the governing body of a school district; and

G. "school district" means an area of land established as a political subdivision of the state for the administration of public schools and segregated geographically for taxation and bonding purposes.

History: Laws 1997, ch. 193, § 3; 1999, ch. 89, § 1; 2011, ch. 149, § 1; 2015, ch. 68, § 2.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, added definitions for "department" and "eligible charter school" and clarified certain definitions in the Education Technology Equipment Act; added Subsection B; redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection C; in Subsection C, Paragraph (1), after "playback;", added "and purchase or lease of"; added Paragraph (3) of Subsection C; and added Subsection D and redesignated former Subsections C, D and E as Subsections E, F and G, respectively.

The 2011 amendment, effective April 7, 2011, eliminated video and audio laser, CD ROM discs video and audio tapes from the definition of "education technology equipment", and added network connection devices, digital communications equipment, servers, switches, portable media and software licenses.

The 1999 amendment, effective March 19, 1999, in Subsection B inserted "and administrative" in the introductory language, added the Paragraph (1) designation and substituted "schools and related facilities; and" for "classrooms and library and media centers" at the end, and added Paragraph (2).

Definition of "lease-purchase arrangement" is invalid. — The last sentence of Subsection C of Section 6-15A-3 NMSA 1978, which equates a lease-purchase arrangement with "any debt" incurred for the acquisition of educational technology equipment, improperly expands the exception for lease-purchase arrangements under Subsection C of Section 11 of Article IX of the New Mexico Constitution beyond what the drafters intended and is invalid. 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 08-01.