Commissioners press Spaceport America on bond payments, board seats and job counts as state bills move

Doña Ana County commissioners used a March 4 work session to question Spaceport America leadership about ongoing bond payments, how tax revenues are used and the local economic benefits produced by the spaceport.

Commissioner John Reynolds summarized his proposed statutory changes and legislative tracking. He said House bill tracking on HB‑369 had not moved out of committee while a related bill, HB‑261, was gaining traction. Reynolds urged that county‑collected regional spaceport gross‑receipts tax revenue be dedicated only to bonds until those bonds are fully discharged; he proposed statutory language to require that the county’s 0.25% spaceport GRT be imposed only until the bonds are paid and to dedicate a minimum of 75% of proceeds to principal and interest. Reynolds also proposed that any new bonds issued by the authority require a public referendum by all governmental unit members and that board membership reflect proportional financial contributions.

Spaceport executive director Scott Andrew McLaughlin attended to answer questions. McLaughlin said the authority refinanced bonds in 2021 and obtained a low interest rate (the authority’s refinancing work produced a reduced rate Reynolds cited as saving about $8 million). He told the commission that a 2022 economic impact study used the ImPlan model and that updated work for 2023–2024 is in progress; McLaughlin said he expects direct and indirect impacts to rise as operations scale and that the master plan (he said the authority paid roughly $1 million for master planning) will be released in the coming weeks.

McLaughlin said Virgin Galactic reduced staff during a period of transition but expects new spaceships to be delivered this year and to resume more frequent flights; he estimated future visitor and room‑night impacts tied to increased flight tempo. He said about 65% of Spaceport America’s operating budget currently comes from tenant and customer revenues, with an operating budget in the low‑to‑mid‑$10 million range and $4 million in state general fund support noted for operations.

Commissioners pressed for more clarity about local job counts and how economic impacts are allocated between Sierra County (site location and construction GRT) and Doña Ana County (where most workers and visitors reside). County staff also noted that the county paid roughly $1.2 million to local public schools (GISD) from spaceport district receipts in FY23 and that projected distributions for future years were higher; Commissioner Sanchez asked staff to compile options for county action, including a possible resolution requesting more state support for the site.

Ending: Commissioners asked Spaceport America to return with clarifying data — the draft master plan, specific tenant and job counts, and detailed revenue projections — and directed county management to examine legal and financial pathways for changing tax terms or board representation if elected officials wish to pursue statutory changes.