MAN-MADE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FAILURE

HB0037

HOUSE BILL 37

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Kathleen Cates

AN ACT

RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX; PROVIDING THAT THE RESTING OF LAND
DUE TO A SPECIAL WATER DISTRICT'S MAN-MADE INFRASTRUCTURE
FAILURE THAT RESULTS IN LESS WATER BEING DELIVERED MEANS
"AGRICULTURAL USE" FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE VALUATION OF PROPERTY
FOR PROPERTY TAX PURPOSES; REQUIRING A SPECIAL WATER DISTRICT
TO CERTIFY WATER SCARCITY TO A COUNTY ASSESSOR.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
Section 7-36-20 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973,
Chapter 258, Section 21, as amended) is amended to read:

"7-36-20. SPECIAL METHOD OF VALUATION--LAND USED
PRIMARILY FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.--

A. The value of land used primarily for
agricultural purposes shall be determined on the basis of the
land's capacity to produce agricultural products. Evidence of
bona fide primary agricultural use of land for the tax year
preceding the year for which determination is made of
eligibility for the land to be valued under this section
creates a presumption that the land is used primarily for
agricultural purposes during the tax year in which the
determination is made. If the land was valued under this
section in one or more of the three tax years preceding the
year in which the determination is made and the use of the land
has not changed since the most recent valuation under this
section, a presumption is created that the land continues to be
entitled to that valuation.

B. [
For the purpose of
]
As used in
this section:

(1) "agricultural products" means plants,
crops, trees, forest products, orchard crops, livestock,
poultry, captive deer or elk, or fish; [
and
]

(2) "agricultural use" means the:

(a) use of land for the production of
agricultural products;

(b) use of land that meets the
requirements for payment or other compensation pursuant to a
soil conservation program under an agreement with an agency of
the federal government;

(c) resting of land to maintain its
capacity to produce agricultural products; [
or
]

(d) resting of land as the direct result
of at least moderate drought conditions as designated by the
United States department of agriculture, if the drought
conditions occurred in the county within which the land is
located for at least eight consecutive weeks during the
previous tax year; provided that the land was used in the tax
year immediately preceding the previous tax year primarily for
a purpose identified pursuant to this paragraph;
or

(e) resting of land as the direct result
of a man-made infrastructure failure in a special water
district that results in a delivery of seventy percent or less
water than what was delivered to all of the district's water
users in the previous calendar year, as certified by the
special water district to the appropriate county assessor
pursuant to Section 2 of this 2026 act; provided that the land
was used primarily for a purpose identified in Subparagraphs
(a) through (d) of this paragraph in the tax year immediately
preceding the previous tax year; and

(3) "special water district" means a
conservancy district organized pursuant to Chapter 73, Articles
14 through 19 NMSA 1978, an acequia or community ditch
association organized pursuant to Chapter 73, Article 2 or 3
NMSA 1978, an irrigation district organized pursuant to Chapter
73, Articles 9 through 13 NMSA 1978, an artesian conservancy
district organized pursuant to Chapter 73, Article 1 NMSA 1978
or any other entity with statutory authority to deliver water
to customers in New Mexico
.

C. The department shall adopt rules for determining
whether land is used primarily for agricultural purposes. The
rules shall provide that the use of land for the lawful taking
of game shall not be considered in determining whether land is
used primarily for agricultural purposes.

D. The department shall adopt rules for determining
the value of land used primarily for agricultural purposes.
The rules shall:

(1) specify procedures to use in determining
the capacity of land to produce agricultural products and the
derivation of value of the land based upon its production
capacity;

(2) establish carrying capacity as the
measurement of the production capacity of land used for grazing
purposes, develop a system of determining carrying capacity
through the use of an animal unit concept and establish
carrying capacities for the land in the state classified as
grazing land;

(3) provide that land the bona fide and
primary use of which is the production of captive deer or elk
shall be valued as grazing land and that captive deer shall be
valued and taxed as sheep and captive elk shall be valued and
taxed as cattle;

(4) provide for the consideration of
determinations of any other governmental agency concerning the
capacity of the same or similar lands to produce agricultural
products;

(5) assure that land determined under the
rules to have the same or similar production capacity shall be
valued uniformly throughout the state; and

(6) provide for the periodic review by the
department of determined production capacities and
capitalization rates used for determining annually the value of
land used primarily for agricultural purposes.

E. All improvements, other than those specified in
Section 7-36-15 NMSA 1978, on land used primarily for
agricultural purposes shall be valued separately for property
taxation purposes, and the value of these improvements shall be
added to the value of the land determined under this section.

F. The owner of the land shall make application to
the county assessor in a tax year in which the valuation method
of this section is first claimed to be applicable to the land
or in a tax year immediately subsequent to a tax year in which
the land was not valued under this section. Application shall
be made under oath, shall be in a form and contain the
information required by department rules and shall be made no
later than thirty days after the date of mailing by the
assessor of the notice of valuation. Once land is valued under
this section, application need not be made in subsequent tax
years as long as there is no change in the use of the land.

G. The owner of land valued under this section
shall report to the county assessor whenever the use of the
land changes so that it is no longer being used primarily for
agricultural purposes. This report shall be made on a form
prescribed by department rules and shall be made by the last
day of February of the tax year immediately following the year
in which the change in the use of the land occurs.

H. Any person who is required to make a report
under the provisions of Subsection G of this section and who
fails to do so is personally liable for a civil penalty in an
amount equal to the greater of twenty-five dollars ($25.00)
or twenty-five percent of the difference between the property
taxes ultimately determined to be due and the property taxes
originally paid for the tax years for which the person failed
to make the required report."

SECTION 2.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] WATER SCARCITY DUE TO A MAN-MADE INFRASTRUCTURE FAILURE IN CERTAIN SPECIAL WATER
DISTRICTS.--

A. A special water district that experiences a
man-made infrastructure failure that directly results in a
delivery of seventy percent or less water than what was
delivered to all of the district's water users in the
previous calendar year shall immediately certify that
information to the appropriate county assessor in the same
property tax year that the failure occurred. Certification
pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted once each tax
year in which the failure continues.

B. As used in this section, "special water
district" means a conservancy district organized pursuant to
Chapter 73, Articles 14 through 19 NMSA 1978, an acequia or
community ditch association organized pursuant to Chapter 73,
Article 2 or 3 NMSA 1978, an irrigation district organized
pursuant to Chapter 73, Articles 9 through 13 NMSA 1978, an
artesian conservancy district organized pursuant to Chapter
73, Article 1 NMSA 1978 or any other entity with statutory
authority to deliver water to customers in New Mexico.

SECTION 3.
APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act
apply to property tax years beginning on or after January 1,
2026.

- 7 -