HB 289

                                1  HOUSE BILL 289
                                2     57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4       Gail Armstrong and Tanya Mirabal Moya and Brian G. Baca
                                5  and Angel M. Charley
                                6
                                7
                                8
                                9
                                10  AN ACT
                                11   RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE; PROVIDING THAT MONEY IN THE
                                12   TRANSPORTATION DISTRIBUTION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL FUND SHALL BE
                                13   USED FOR PAYMENTS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND STATE-CHARTERED
                                14   CHARTER SCHOOLS FOR TO-AND-FROM TRANSPORTATION COSTS THAT
                                15   INCLUDE THE COST OF MILES TRAVELED TO PICK UP THE FIRST STUDENT
                                16   OR CHILD ON A BUS ROUTE AND OF MILES TRAVELED TO RETURN A BUS
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                                17   AFTER THE LAST STUDENT OR CHILD ON A BUS ROUTE IS DROPPED OFF;
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                                18   MAKING CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
                                19
                                20   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
                                21        SECTION 1.    Section 22-8-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967,
                                22   Chapter 16, Section 76, as amended) is amended to read:
                                23        "22-8-26.    TRANSPORTATION DISTRIBUTION.--
                                24  A.   Money in the transportation distribution of the
                                25   public school fund shall be used only for the purpose of making
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                                1    payments to each school district or state-chartered charter
                                2    school for:
                                3  (1)   the to-and-from school transportation
                                4    costs of students in [grades] kindergarten through [twelve]
                                5    twelfth grade attending public school within the school
                                6    district or state-chartered charter school and of three- and
                                7    four-year-old children who meet the department-approved
                                8    criteria for and definition of developmentally disabled,
                                9    including the cost of miles traveled by a school bus to pick up
                                10   the first student or child on a school bus route and the number
                                11   of miles traveled to return a school bus after the last student
                                12   or child on a school bus route is dropped off; and [for]
                                13  (2)   the transportation of students to and from
                                14   their regular attendance centers and the place where vocational
                                15   education programs are being offered.
                                16  B.   In the event a school district's or state-
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                                17   chartered charter school's transportation allocation exceeds
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                                18   the amount required to meet obligations to provide to-and-from
                                19   transportation, three- and four-year-old developmentally
                                20   disabled transportation and vocational education
                                21   transportation, fifty percent of the remaining balance shall be
                                22   deposited in the transportation emergency fund.
                                23  C.   Of the excess amount retained by the school
                                24   district or state-chartered charter school, at least twenty-
                                25   five percent shall be used for to-and-from transportation-
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                                1    related services, excluding salaries and benefits, and up to
                                2    twenty-five percent may be used for other transportation-
                                3    related services, excluding salaries and benefits as defined by
                                4    rule of the department.
                                5  D.   In the event the sum of the proposed
                                6    transportation allocations to each school district or state-
                                7    chartered charter school exceeds the amounts in the
                                8    transportation distribution, the allocation to each school
                                9    district or state-chartered charter school shall be reduced in
                                10   the proportion that the school district or state-chartered
                                11   charter school allocation bears to the total statewide
                                12   transportation distribution.
                                13  E.   A local school board or governing body of a
                                14   state-chartered charter school, with the approval of the state
                                15   transportation director, may provide additional transportation
                                16   services pursuant to Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 to meet
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                                17   established program needs.
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                                18  F.   Nothing in this section prohibits the use of
                                19   school buses to transport the general public pursuant to the
                                20   Emergency Transportation Act."
                                21        SECTION 2.    Section 22-8-29.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995,
                                22   Chapter 208, Section 10, as amended) is amended to read:
                                23        "22-8-29.1.    CALCULATION OF TRANSPORTATION ALLOCATION.--
                                24  A.   As used in this section:
                                25  (1)   "annual variables" means the coefficients
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                                1    calculated by regressing the total operational expenditures
                                2    from two years prior to the current school year for each school
                                3    district and state-chartered charter school using the number of
                                4    students transported and the numerical value of site
                                5    characteristics; [provided that for fiscal years 2022 and 2023,
                                6    the coefficients shall be calculated by regressing the total
                                7    operational expenditures from fiscal year 2019]
                                8  (2)   "base amount" means the fixed amount that
                                9    is the same for all school districts and an amount established
                                10   by rule for state-chartered charter schools;
                                11  (3)   "total operational expenditures" means the
                                12   sum of all to-and-from school transportation expenditures,
                                13   including the cost of miles traveled by a school bus to pick up
                                14   the first student or child on a school bus route and the number
                                15   of miles traveled to return a school bus after the last student
                                16   or child on a school bus route is dropped off and excluding
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                                17   expenditures incurred in accordance with the provisions of
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                                18   Section 22-8-27 NMSA 1978; and
                                19  (4)   "variable amount" means the sum of the
                                20   product of the annual variables multiplied by each school
                                21   district's or state-chartered charter school's numerical value
                                22   of the school district's and state-chartered charter school's
                                23   site characteristics multiplied by the number of days of
                                24   operation for each school district or state-chartered charter
                                25   school.
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                                1  B.    The department shall calculate the
                                2    transportation allocation for each school district and state-
                                3    chartered charter school.
                                4  C.    The base amount is designated as product A.
                                5    Product A is the constant calculated by regressing the total
                                6    operational expenditures from the two years prior to the
                                7    current school year for school district or state-chartered
                                8    charter school operations using the numerical value of site
                                9    characteristics approved by the department.      The legislative
                                10   education study committee and the legislative finance committee
                                11   may review the site characteristics developed by the state
                                12   transportation director prior to approval by the department.
                                13  D.    The variable amount is designated as product B.
                                14   Product B is the predicted additional expenditures for each
                                15   school district or state-chartered charter school based on the
                                16   regression analysis using the site characteristics as predictor
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                                17   variables multiplied by the number of days.
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                                18  E.    The allocation to each school district and
                                19   state-chartered charter school shall be equal to product A plus
                                20   product B.    The adjustment factor shall be applied to the
                                21   calculation.
                                22  [F.    For the 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
                                23   school years, the transportation allocation for each school
                                24   district shall not be less than ninety-five percent or more
                                25   than one hundred five percent of the prior school year's
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                                1    transportation expenditure.]"
                                2  SECTION 3.   EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
                                3    provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.
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