HB 238

                                1  HOUSE BILL 238
                                2     57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4  Tara L. Lujan
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                                10  AN ACT
                                11   RELATING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; CREATING THE INDEPENDENT
                                12   THEATER SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM AS A THREE-YEAR PILOT PROJECT TO
                                13   PROVIDE SPONSORSHIP PAYMENTS TO INDEPENDENT THEATERS; PROVIDING
                                14   FOR PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY, PROGRAM TERMS AND REPORTING
                                15   REQUIREMENTS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
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                                17   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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                                18        SECTION 1.    [NEW MATERIAL] PILOT PROJECT--INDEPENDENT
                                19   THEATER SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM--ELIGIBILITY--PROGRAM TERMS--
                                20   REPORTING AND EVALUATION.--
                                21  A.   The "independent theater sponsorship program" is
                                22   created as a three-year pilot project to provide sponsorship
                                23   payments to independent theaters and measure the effect of
                                24   sponsorship payments on the economic development of municipal
                                25   business districts.    The independent theater sponsorship
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                                1    program is intended to demonstrate that sponsorship payments to
                                2    independent theaters help to maintain the viability of
                                3    independent theaters and revitalize municipal business
                                4    districts.    The independent theater sponsorship program shall
                                5    be administered by the economic development department.
                                6  B.   An eligible participant in the independent
                                7    theater sponsorship program is a theater that is:
                                8  (1)   located in a municipal business district
                                9    that is:
                                10  (a)   participating in a main street
                                11   program pursuant to the Main Street Act; or
                                12  (b)   designated as an arts and cultural
                                13   district pursuant to the Arts and Cultural District Act; and
                                14  (2)   owned by a person that owns only one
                                15   theater.
                                16  C.   Subject to appropriation, the economic
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                                17   development department shall determine which independent
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                                18   theaters are eligible to participate in the independent theater
                                19   sponsorship program and the amount of independent theater
                                20   sponsorship payments.     The amount of a sponsorship payment
                                21   shall be individualized for each participant and adjusted based
                                22   on the participant's financial capacity, operating capability
                                23   and sponsorship opportunities and the availability of matching
                                24   public or private funds; provided that a state sponsorship
                                25   shall not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per month.       A
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                                1    sponsorship payment may be expended on capital improvements or
                                2    operating expenses, as provided by rule.
                                3  D.   The economic development department shall:
                                4  (1)   promulgate rules for the form and manner
                                5    of sponsorship applications, procedures and criteria for
                                6    reviewing applications, the methodology for evaluating
                                7    potential participants and sponsorship obligations of
                                8    participants; and
                                9  (2)   evaluate the fiscal impact of the
                                10   independent theater sponsorship program on municipal business
                                11   districts.
                                12  E.   The economic development department shall report
                                13   to the appropriate interim legislative committees by no later
                                14   than November 1 of each year the independent theater
                                15   sponsorship program is in operation on the number and locations
                                16   of participants and the amount of sponsorship payments to
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                                17   participants and matching funds received from participants.     No
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                                18   later than October 1, 2029, the economic development department
                                19   shall provide a final report to the legislative finance
                                20   committee and the appropriate interim legislative committee on
                                21   the outcomes of the program for the participants, the fiscal
                                22   impact of the program on municipal business districts and other
                                23   recommendations that the economic development department deems
                                24   appropriate.
                                25        SECTION 2.     APPROPRIATION.--One million dollars
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                                1    ($1,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the
                                2    economic development department for expenditure in fiscal years
                                3    2027 through 2029 for the independent theater sponsorship
                                4    program.    Any unexpended balance remaining at the end of fiscal
                                5    year 2029 shall revert to the general fund.
                                6  SECTION 3.    EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
                                7    provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.
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