2013 Position Papers

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Below you can find the 2013 Legislative Priorities Position Papers

To see the Legislative Priorities Administrative Resolution (AR 2012-103), please click here. To see the additional Legislative Priorities enacted by the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners at its Jan. 22 meeting, please click here. To see any of the position papers for the priorities below, please click on the item.

Oppose any legislation that a) proposes any revenue reductions, b) adversely affects funding sources or c) diminishes the County's regulatory authority.
Amend the general sentencing statute to provide that any inmate convicted of a felony offense shall serve the sentence in a Department of Corrections facility regardless of the length of sentence imposed.
Amend the misdemeanor sentencing statute to provide for a change so that inmates serving a sentence at a Department of Corrections facility on misdemeanor offenses unless the sentence is 180 days or less. Currently, all sentences less than 365 days are served in jails.
Amend the statutory framework to provide that all inmates are subject to a parole tail regardless of whether they finish out time in a Department of Corrections facility or a jail. This will result in a change in philsophy about plea agreements. The preference will be that terms are served in a Department of Corrections facility because of the statutory right to good time. It will also change the philsophy of the courts in terms of sentencing.
Introduce legislation to reclassify Bernalillo County Probate Court Judicial requirements for counties with a population of 600,000 or more.
Support legislation to provide for an exemption from the state procurement code for class A counties with a population of more than 500,000; providing, however, that the county shall either adopt a procurement code materially similar to that of a home-rule municipality in that county or develop a new procurement code that shall be submitted ot the Local Government Division of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration for review and approval then codifed by county ordinance.
Yield Control Issues
1. Amend Section 7-38-34 NMSA 1978 which requires the Board of County Commissioners to issue and deliver the County Assessor its own order imposing the 2013 Property Tax Rate within five days of its receipt from the State of New Mexico DFA, LGD.
2. Amend Section 7-31-7 NMSA 1978 Property Tax Language. Request that the legislature appoint a committee of state and local economic finance professionals tasked to develop a mechanism allowing taxing authorities the ability to decrease or maintain prior year tax rates while still maintaining the intent of the property tax law. In addition, the committee must establish a list of financial and economic criteria that must be met by the local government entity and reviewed and approved by DFA prior to approving the local government budget.
Pursue longevity property tax credit, or "Homestead Provision", to provide property tax relief and prevent economic displacement for property owners who have owned their homes for fifteen (15) or more years. Qualifying homeowners would be entitled to a tax credit of five percent per year for up to five (5) years, with a maximum credit of twenty-five percent.
Introduce a legislative memorial asking all counties to support locally and nationally manufactured goods by purchasing American products exclusively if they are available.
Amend existing state law to enable counties to establish franchise agreement with utilities.
Amend state statute/s regarding municipal liens to allow counties the same authority as municipalities.
Pursue a legislative memorial for Class A Counties to have an appointed Special Judge or Special Master to hear only code enforcement cases thus expediting corrective actions and separating these cases from the existing Metropolitan Court caseload and granting the Board of County Commissioners authority to adopt ordinances providing citation authority to code enforcement officers.
Introduce a legislative memorial requesting state funding for the Interstate Stream Commission to include a recurring budget of $400,000 for the update of four regional water plans each year.
Deliquent Property Tax issues
1. Amend Section 7-38-62 NMSA 1978 to allow the County Treasurer who is authorized to act as the department’s agent to have the authority to collect partial payments on delinquent property taxes after properties are on the tax delinquency list
2. Amend Section 3.6.7.71 NMAC to allow the County Treasure who is acting as the department’s agent to accept partial payments for properties on the delinquency lists.
Introduce legislation decriminalizing non violent offenses but consider as traffic offenses with substantial fines.
Introduce legislation to increase criminal and civil penalties from $300 to $500.
Support those proposals made by the NMAC that are advantageous to Bernalillo County.
Introduce Captial Outlay appropriation requests:
1. Bernalillo County's five capital outlay priorities:
2. Other legislative capital outlay requests:
19: Support Legislator sponsored capital outlay legislation that is consistent with the priorities set by the County.

Additional priorities enacted by AR-2013-xx - January 22, 2013 Bernalillo County Commission Administrative meeting

Support legislation and capital outlay requests that promote the sustainability and profitablity of small-scale, local agriculture in Bernalillo County.

Support pension reform that gives all public safety - police, fire, corrections and juvenile corrections alike - the same retirement benefits for future hires.

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