A. The "public school utility conservation fund" is created as a special fund in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of money transferred to the fund, from year to year, from the distribution of the permanent fund and land income of which the common schools are the beneficiary. No other money from any school district or state source shall be deposited or paid into the public school utility conservation fund.

B. Annually, after the calculation of the state equalization guarantee distribution has been made, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine the sum of the deductions made in the state equalization guarantee distribution of school districts pursuant to Paragraph (7) of Subsection D of Section 22-8-25 NMSA 1978 and shall certify that amount to the secretary of finance and administration. Distributions from the permanent fund and land income of which the common schools are the beneficiary equal to that amount shall be transferred from the common school current fund to the public school utility conservation fund.

C. Money in the public school utility conservation fund is appropriated to the state department of public education solely for the purpose of disbursing money to school districts to make payments pursuant to any guaranteed utility savings contract between the school district and a qualified provider or any installment contract or lease-purchase agreement for the purchase and installation of energy or water conservation measures pursuant to that guaranteed utility savings contract.

D. Disbursements from the public school utility conservation fund shall be made only to school districts and only upon certification by the superintendent of public instruction that the disbursement is for a payment authorized by the Public Facility Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Act.

E. The superintendent of public instruction shall submit to the legislative finance committee prior to each regular legislative session a list of school districts proposing to enter into approved guaranteed utility savings contracts in the succeeding fiscal year. The list shall include information on the amount of the school district's proposed annual payments and specific amounts that utility and operational budget items are guaranteed to be reduced to achieve the savings to make the payments.

F. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining in the public school utility conservation fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be transferred to the public school fund.

History: Laws 1993, ch. 231, § 7; 1997, ch. 42, § 8; 2001, ch. 247, § 7.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, substituted "distribution" for "income" in Subsection A; in Subsection B, updated the internal reference and substituted "Distributions" for "Income"; deleted "or both" following "conservation measures" in Subsection C; and substituted "Public Facility" for "Public Building" in Subsection D.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, substituted "utility" for "energy" throughout the section; substituted "utility conservation" for "energy efficiency" throughout the section and in the section heading; made stylistic changes in Subsection B; in Subsection C, inserted "or water" and inserted "or both"; and inserted "and Water Conservation" in Subsection D.