A. The "local government planning fund" is created within the authority and shall be administered by the authority. The authority shall adopt rules necessary to administer the fund.

B. The following shall be deposited directly into the local government planning fund:

(1) the net proceeds from the sale of bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of Section 6-21-6.1 NMSA 1978 for the purposes of the local government planning fund and payable from the public project revolving fund;

(2) money appropriated by the legislature to implement the provisions of this section; and

(3) any other public or private money dedicated to the fund.

C. Money in the local government planning fund is appropriated to the authority to make grants to qualified entities; to evaluate and to estimate the costs of implementing the most feasible alternatives for infrastructure, water and wastewater public project needs or to develop water conservation plans, long-term master plans, economic development plans or energy audits; and to pay the administrative costs of the local government planning program.

D. The authority shall adopt rules governing the terms and conditions of grants made from the local government planning fund.

E. The authority may make grants from the local government planning fund to qualified entities without specific authorization by law for each grant.

History: Laws 2002, ch. 26, § 2; 2005, ch. 180, § 1; 2012, ch. 49, § 1.

The 2012 amendment, effective March 6, 2012, expanded the purpose of the local government planning fund to include infrastructure and energy audits; removed the requirement that certain grants be repaid; in Subsection C, after "feasible alternatives for", deleted "meeting" and added "infrastructure" and after "economic development plans", added "or energy audits"; and in Subsection D, deleted the former second sentence, which provided that the qualified entity had to agree to reimburse the fund when financing from any other source was received by the qualified entity.

Appropriations. — Laws 2012, ch. 49, § 2, effective March 6, 2012, appropriated $2,000,000 from the public project revolving fund to the local government planning fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2012 and subsequent fiscal years to fund local government planning for water or wastewater system development, economic development or long-term water management and water conservation strategies.

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, changed the name of the "water and wastewater planning fund" to the "local government planning fund"; provided in Subsection C that money in the fund is appropriated for grants to evaluate and estimate the costs to develop water conservation plans, long-term master plans or economic development plans; and provided in Subsection D that the qualified entity must agree to reimburse the fund when financing from any source other than the authority is received by the entity.