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Committee advances amendment to let cities extend MRA tax abatements up to 14 years
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Summary
The committee voted to advance SB58 as amended, which would allow metropolitan redevelopment areas to offer property tax abatements of up to 14 years (instead of a fixed 7), giving localities discretion; sponsors and city redevelopment officials said the change incentivizes housing and redevelopment, while senators raised questions about school-district revenue and fiscal impact.
Senate Bill 58, which would extend property tax abatement periods for designated metropolitan redevelopment areas (MRAs) from a fixed seven years to up to 14 years, was advanced by committee as amended.
Sponsor testimony and city officials described MRAs as locally designated districts targeting blighted or underutilized property for redevelopment. Terry Bruner, director of Metropolitan Redevelopment for the city of Albuquerque, said the amendment clarifies that the abatement may be "up to" 14 years rather than a mandatory 14-year period, leaving the decision to local taxing jurisdictions based on project gap analyses.
Bruner outlined how MRAs are used in practice in Albuquerque: municipalities may take deed to a property, enter a lease with a developer who pays original taxes, require development milestones and community benefits, and return the property at the end of the abatement period. He said Albuquerque has 19 MRAs and roughly 10 projects in about three years, many focused on housing.
Business and development groups (New Mexico Association of Realtors; Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce) testified in support, saying longer potential abatements give certainty that encourages investment, housing and job creation. Senator Trujillo and others pushed back with questions about fiscal impacts on school districts and other taxing authorities; Bruner argued that successful redevelopment increases assessed values over time and can yield large future tax gains for taxing entities.
Senator Woods asked about eminent-domain powers and was told those powers were removed from MRAs decades earlier. The committee tabled detailed fiscal questions (the fiscal impact report did not specify a statewide lost-revenue number) but advanced the bill.
Clerk recorded a motion for due pass as amended, moved by Senator Padilla with a second; the roll call as transcribed resulted in the chair announcing a due pass with '7 the affirmative, 0 in the negative.' The committee then continued to the next item.
Next steps: SB58 will proceed with the committee’s recommendation; fiscal impacts to local taxing authorities and school districts were raised as issues for future analysis.
