A. The majority of the members of the governing body of any municipality may impose by ordinance an excise tax on the gross receipts of any person engaging in business in the municipality for the privilege of engaging in business in the municipality. A tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be imposed by the enactment of one or more ordinances. The governing body of a municipality may, at the time of enacting the ordinance, dedicate the revenue for any municipal purpose. If the governing body proposes to dedicate such revenue, the ordinance and, if any election is held, the ballot shall clearly state the purpose to which the revenue will be dedicated, and any revenue so dedicated shall be used by the municipality for that purpose unless a subsequent ordinance is adopted to change the purpose to which dedicated or to place the revenue in the general fund of the municipality.

B. The tax imposed pursuant to Subsection A of this section may be referred to as the "municipal gross receipts tax".

C. The maximum rate of the municipal gross receipts tax on the gross receipts of any person engaging in business in the municipality shall not exceed two and one-half percent. Of that two and one-half percent:

(1) a governing body may choose to require an election to impose increments that total two and five-hundredths percent; and

(2) the remaining increments, totaling forty-five hundredths percent, shall not go into effect until after an election is held and a majority of the voters in the municipality voting in the election votes in favor of the tax. Increments approved by voters prior to the effective date of this 2019 act shall be included in the increments approved by the voters, as provided in this paragraph.

D. An election shall be called on the questions of disapproval or approval of any ordinance enacted pursuant to Subsection C of this section or any ordinance amending such ordinance:

(1) if the governing body chooses to provide in the ordinance that it shall not be effective until the ordinance is approved by the majority of the registered voters voting on the question at an election to be held pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978]; or

(2) if the ordinance does not contain a mandatory election provision as provided in Paragraph (1) of this subsection, upon the filing of a petition requesting such an election if the petition is filed:

(a) pursuant to the requirements of a referendum provision contained in a municipal home-rule charter and signed by the number of registered voters in the municipality equal to the number of registered voters required in its charter to seek a referendum; or

(b) in all other municipalities, with the municipal clerk within thirty days after the adoption of such ordinance and the petition has been signed by a number of registered voters in the municipality equal to at least five percent of the number of the voters in the municipality who were registered to vote in the most recent regular municipal election.

E. The signatures on the petition filed in accordance with Subsection D of this section shall be verified by the municipal clerk. If the petition is verified by the municipal clerk as containing the required number of signatures of registered voters, the governing body shall adopt an election resolution calling for the holding of a special election on the question of approving or disapproving the ordinance unless the ordinance is repealed before the adoption of the election resolution. An election held pursuant to Subparagraph (a) or (b) of Paragraph (2) of Subsection D of this section shall be called, conducted and canvassed as provided in the Local Election Act, and the election shall be held within seventy-five days after the date the petition is verified by the municipal clerk or it may be held in conjunction with a regular local election if such election occurs within seventy-five days after the date of verification by the municipal clerk.

F. If at an election called pursuant to Subsection D of this section a majority of the registered voters voting on the question approves the ordinance imposing the tax, the ordinance shall become effective in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Local Option Gross Receipts Taxes Act. If at such an election a majority of the registered voters voting on the question disapproves the ordinance, the ordinance imposing the tax shall be deemed repealed and the question of imposing any increment of the municipal gross receipts tax authorized in this section shall not be considered again by the governing body for a period of one year from the date of the election.

G. Any law that imposes or authorizes the imposition of a municipal gross receipts tax or that affects the municipal gross receipts tax, or any law supplemental thereto or otherwise appertaining thereto, shall not be repealed or amended or otherwise directly or indirectly modified in such a manner as to impair adversely any outstanding revenue bonds that may be secured by a pledge of such municipal gross receipts tax unless such outstanding revenue bonds have been discharged in full or provision has been fully made therefor.

History: Laws 1978, ch. 151, § 1; 1979, ch. 155, § 1; 1981, ch. 37, § 11; 1982, ch. 3, § 2; 1983, ch. 213, § 18; 1985, ch. 208, § 121; 1986, ch. 20, § 76; 1987, ch. 323, § 26; 1988, ch. 120, § 1; 1978, Comp., § 7-19-4, amended and recompiled as 1978 Comp., § 7-19D-9 by Laws 1993, ch. 346, § 9; 2007, ch. 331, § 5; 2018, ch. 79, § 76; 2019, ch. 274, § 13.

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, replaced the one and one-half percent maximum authority for municipal gross receipts tax local option with a maximum authority of two and one-half percent, provided that local authorities are authorized to allow local voters to approve any enactments of less than an aggregate two and five hundredths percent, and provided that any authorization over two and five-hundredths percent to be approved by the local voters; in Subsection A, after "an excise tax", deleted "not to exceed a rate of one and one-half percent of", and deleted "each imposing any number of municipal gross receipts tax rate increments but the total municipal gross receipts tax rate imposed by all ordinances shall not exceed an aggregate rate of one and one-half percent of the gross receipts of a person engaging in business. Municipalities may impose increments of one-eighth of one percent." and added "any municipal purpose"; deleted former Subsection B and subsection designation "C"; after "dedicate the revenue for", deleted "a specific purpose or area of municipal government services, including police protection, fire protection, public transportation or street repair and maintenance"; added new Subsections B and C; and deleted former Subsection G and redesignated former Subsection H as Subsection G.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, provided that elections called to approve or disapprove ordinances imposing excise taxes shall be called, conducted and canvassed pursuant to the provisions of the Local Election Act, and made technical and conforming changes; in Paragraph D(1), after "pursuant to the provisions of", deleted "a home-rule charter or on a date set by the governing body and pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Election Code governing special elections" and added "the Local Election Act"; and in Subsection E, after "canvassed as provided in the", deleted "Municipal Election Code for special elections" and added "Local Election Act", and after "regular", deleted "municipal" and added "local".

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 174 provided that references in law to the Municipal Election Code and to the School Election Law shall be deemed to be references to the Local Election Act.

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, increased the maximum aggregate gross receipts tax rate to one-half percent of gross receipts and provided that all municipalities may impose increments of one-eighth of one percent.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, renumbered this section and rewrote it to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.