Committee gives do-pass to Memorial seeking study of spaceport tax and local impacts

House Memorial 60, presented to the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee, requests that the interim Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee study questions raised by House Bill 396, a spaceport bill that adjusted gross receipts tax (GRT) rates and bonding language.

The sponsor said House Bill 396 had been tabled 10-0 in House Commerce and Economic Development after concerns that the original bill did not hold local entities harmless and could reduce revenue used by school districts and other local programs. House Memorial 60 asks the relevant interim committee to examine ways to hold local governments harmless while assessing GRT and bond language related to spaceport development.

Representative Block asked whether the original bill held local governments harmless; the sponsor said it did not and that some school districts would have lost revenue. Representatives discussed the importance of talking with local stakeholders in the interim to find ways to make them whole while addressing the county-level GRT question for Dona Ana County and others.

Representative Luhan moved a do-pass recommendation and Representative Borrego seconded. The chair called for opposition; none was raised. The chair announced the memorial "has to do pass." The transcript records no public testimony for or against the memorial during the committee hearing.

The memorial will proceed for interim review by the Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee, as requested in the memorial text; the sponsor stood for questions and said they would work with local officials in the interim.