NM HB109

Establishes criteria for prioritizing water projects under the Water Project Finance Act, including urgency of need, availability of matching funds, project readiness, regional impacts, health and safety concerns, and water quality/quantity improvements

Requires the board to develop a weighted scoring system to evaluate and rank all loan and grant applications, with a ten-point score increase granted for emergency situations

Allows the New Mexico Finance Authority to fund water projects from the Water Project Fund without legislative approval until December 31, 2029, after which legislative authorization will be required

Dedicates 10% of water project funds to the State Engineer for water rights adjudications, with 20% of that amount allocated to the Administrative Office of the Courts for adjudication costs

From July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029, limits the State Engineer's allocation to the lesser of $4 million or 8% of funds, with 2% going to the courts for adjudication costs