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In addition to general obligation bond financing, George K. Baum & Company specializes
in financing under the Education Technology Equipment Act.
The Education Technology Equipment Act (Section 6-15A-16, NMSA 1978, as amended) became
law following the 1997 session of the New Mexico Legislature. The Act allowed Boards
of Education to impose a property tax without
an election for the purpose(s) of acquiring tools used in the educational
process that constitute learning resources and may include closed-circuit
television systems, educational television and radio broadcasting, cable
television, satellite, copper and fiber optic transmission, computer,
video and audio laser and CD-ROM discs, video and audio tapes or other
technologies and the maintenance, equipment and computer infrastructure
information, techniques and tools used to implement technology (the
"Tools") in classrooms and library media centers.
The Act was amended during the 1999 session of the New Mexico Legislature. The Amendment
was signed by the Governor and became law in 1999. The Amendment removed
certain restrictions which limited the acquisition of the above Tools
to classrooms and library media centers and now allows acquiring the
above Tools for administrative uses in schools and related facilities;
and improvements, alterations and modifications to, or the expansion
of, existing buildings or personal property necessary or advisable to
house or otherwise accommodate any of the Tools listed above.
Another effect of the 1999 Amendment changes the definition of "capital improvements"
in both the Public School Capital Improvement Act and the Public School
Buildings Act to allow districts to use proceeds derived from the 2-Mill
(Capital Improvements) levy and the Public School Buildings Act to pay
debt service for payments with respect to lease-purchase agreements
(education technology notes) as defined in the Education Technology
Equipment Act.
New Mexico representatives of George K. Baum & Company were the first financial
advisors and underwriters to apply the Act to financing for New Mexico School Districts and
have been a part of the legislative process for the Act in 1997 and the amendment
in 1999. We were the first to obtain a municipal bond rating for the
education technology notes in the state of New Mexico. No other firm
has the extensive knowledge and actual experience regarding applications
of the financing under the Act than George K. Baum & Company. The debt
incurred through this Act becomes part of a district's general obligation
debt and therefore becomes a factor in determining a district's bonding
capacity and critical capital outlay criteria.
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