CS/HB 211/a WATER PROJECT PRIORITIZATION

Rep Susan K Herrera

Actions: [3] HAAWC/HAFC-HAAWC [5] DNP-CS/DP-HAFC [10] DP/a [13] PASSED/H (67-0) [8] SCONC-SCONC [9] DP [13] fl/a- PASSED/S (34-5) [15] h/cncrd SGND BY GOV (Feb. 28) Ch. 9.

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 House Bill 211 (HB 211) prioritizes Water Project Fund projects that are urgent to address public health and safety. It allows the Water Trust Board to authorize water projects for wastewater conveyance and treatment and provides that the New Mexico Finance Authority set requirements of financial capability of qualifying entities and determine costs of originating grants and loans. HB 211 removes the requirement that eligible entities conduct an audit and that water project plans are reviewed and recommended by the state engineer and the Department of Environment before approval. It removes fiscal agent fees from items that are eligible for grants and loans and reduces the amount of water project funds distributed to the state engineer. HB 211 allows the New Mexico Finance Authority to fund water projects without receiving the approval of the legislature for the next five years and changes the date that the Water Trust Board is required to report to the legislature. It provides that money in the Water Project Fund may be used to hire contractors to provide technical assistance.
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

The House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee introduced a committee substitute for HB 211 (HAAWC CS/HB 211) that prioritizes Water Project Fund projects that are urgent to address public health and safety. It allows the Water Trust Board to authorize water projects for wastewater conveyance and treatment and provides that the New Mexico Finance Authority set requirements of financial capability of qualifying entities and determine costs of originating grants and loans. HAAWC CS/HB 211 removes the requirement that eligible entities conduct an audit. It removes fiscal agent fees from items that are eligible for grants and loans and reduces the amount of water project funds distributed to the state engineer for the next five years. HAAWC CS/HB 211 allows the New Mexico Finance Authority to fund water projects without receiving the approval of the legislature for the next five years and changes the date that the Water Trust Board is required to report to the legislature. It provides that money in the Water Project Fund may be used to hire contractors to provide technical assistance;


 

 House Bill 211 (HB 211) changes Section 72-4A-5 NMSA 1978 so that the Water Trust Board (Board) will give priority to Water Project Fund (WPF) projects that are urgent to address public health and safety and allows the Board to authorize water projects for wastewater conveyance and treatment. It removes implementation of federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 collaborative programs as a qualifying water project funded by the WPF and eliminates a drought strike team in this section.
HB 211 mandates the New Mexico Finance Authority to set requirements for financial capability of qualifying entities and determine costs of originating grants and loans. HB 211 removes the requirement that eligible entities conduct an audit and that water project plans are reviewed and recommended by the state engineer and the Department of Environment before approval. It removes fiscal agent fees from items that are eligible for grants and loans (Section 72-4A-7 NMSA 1978)
HB 211 limits the percent of all water project funds dedicated to the OSE to ten percent of all water project funds or four million dollars ($4,000,000) whichever is less for water rights adjudication between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2029.  Two percent of all water project funds will be dedicated to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for court costs associated with water rights adjudications.
HB 211 allows the New Mexico Finance Authority to fund water projects without receiving the approval of the legislature until 1 July 2029 and changes the date that the Water Trust Board is required to report to the legislature from October to December each year. It provides that the NMFA may use money in the Water Project Fund to hire contractors to provide technical assistance
 

 Pursuant to the Water Project Finance Act (Section 72-4A-1 et seq NMSA 1978), NMFA provides administrative support to the sixteen-member Water Trust Board and manages the Water Project Fund on its behalf.  NMFA makes loans and grants for projects recommended by the Water Trust Board and authorized by the legislature including water conservation or recycling, treatment or water reuse projects; flood prevention projects; Endangered Species Act (ESA) collaborative projects; water storage, conveyance or delivery projects; and/or watershed restoration and management projects. The Water Project Fund annually receives nine percent of Senior Severance Tax Bond (“STB”) proceeds as well as a distribution from the Water Trust Fund.  Water Trust Board awards are a combination of grants and loans, based upon the financial capacity of the applicants. 
https://www.nmfinance.com/water-project-fund/
 

 2/6/2024
The House Appropriations and Finance Committee amended HAAWC CS/HB 211 (HAFC CS/HB 211A by restoring implementation of the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 as a water project qualified to receive assistance from the Water Project Fund.  It modified the period during which the OSE will receive reduced amounts from the Water Project Fund from five to two years, thus ending 30 June 2026.
 

 The House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee introduced a committee substitute for HB 211 (HAAWC CS/HB 211).
HAAWC CS/HB 211 changes Section 72-4A-5 NMSA 1978 so that the Water Trust Board (Board) will give priority to Water Project Fund (WPF) projects that are urgent to address public health and safety and allows the Board to authorize water projects for wastewater conveyance and treatment. It removes implementation of federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 collaborative programs as a qualifying water project funded by the WPF and eliminates a drought strike team in this section.
HAAWC CS/HB 211 mandates the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) set requirements for financial capability of qualifying entities and determine costs of originating grants and loans. HAAWC CS/HB 211 removes the requirement that eligible entities conduct an audit. It removes fiscal agent fees from items that are eligible for grants and loans (Section 72-4A-7 NMSA 1978)
HAAWC CS/HB 211 limits the percent of all water project funds dedicated to the OSE to eight percent of all water project funds or four million dollars ($4,000,000) whichever is less for water rights adjudication between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2029.  Two percent of all water project funds will be dedicated to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for court costs associated with water rights adjudications.
HAAWC CS/HB 211 allows the NMFA to fund water projects without receiving the approval of the legislature until 1 July 2029 and changes the date that the Water Trust Board is required to report to the legislature from October to December each year. It provides that the NMFA may use money in the Water Project Fund to hire contractors to provide technical assistance
 

 2/14/24
The Senate introduced amendments to HAFC/a HAAWC CS/HB 211 (FlA HAAWC CS HB 211A) that reinstated a five-year period for reduced payments to the OSE from the Water Project Fund and  the requirement that the NMFA would need legislative approval to fund projects from this fund.