SB 150

                                1  SENATE BILL 150
                                2     57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4  Peter Wirth
                                5
                                6
                                7
                                8
                                9
                                10  AN ACT
                                11   RELATING TO TAXATION; CREATING THE LOCAL NEWS PRINTER INCOME
                                12   TAX CREDIT AND LOCAL NEWS PRINTER CORPORATE INCOME TAX CREDIT.
                                13
                                14   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
                                15        SECTION 1.    A new section of the Income Tax Act is enacted
                                16   to read:
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                                17        "[NEW MATERIAL] LOCAL NEWS PRINTER INCOME TAX CREDIT.--
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                                18  A.   For taxable years prior to January 1, 2031, a
                                19   taxpayer who is not a dependent of another individual and is
                                20   an owner of a local news printer that employs a qualified
                                21   employee may claim a credit against the taxpayer's tax
                                22   liability imposed pursuant to the Income Tax Act in an amount
                                23   provided in Subsection B of this section.    The tax credit
                                24   provided by this section may be referred to as the "local news
                                25   printer income tax credit".
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                                1  B.   The amount of tax credit shall be in an amount
                                2    equal to the wages paid to each qualified employee employed by
                                3    a local news printer in the taxable year for which the tax
                                4    credit is claimed, not to exceed:
                                5  (1)   ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a
                                6    qualified employee working an average of twenty hours or more
                                7    per week in the taxable year; and
                                8  (2)   five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a
                                9    qualified employee working an average of less than twenty hours
                                10   per week in the taxable year.
                                11  C.   A taxpayer shall apply for certification of
                                12   eligibility for the tax credit from the department on forms and
                                13   in the manner prescribed by the department.    A taxpayer shall
                                14   not be eligible to receive a tax credit for more than one
                                15   hundred qualified employees whom the taxpayer employs as a
                                16   local news printer and, except as provided in Subsections F and
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                                17   G of this section, only one tax credit shall be certified for
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                                18   each qualified employee employed by a local news printer per
                                19   taxable year.    The total annual aggregate amount of local news
                                20   printer income tax credits and local news printer corporate
                                21   income tax credits that may be certified in a calendar year
                                22   shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000).    Completed
                                23   applications shall be considered in the order received.
                                24  D.   If the department determines that the taxpayer
                                25   meets the requirements of this section, the department shall
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                                1    issue a dated certificate of eligibility to the taxpayer
                                2    providing the amount of tax credit for which the taxpayer is
                                3    eligible and the taxable years in which the credit may be
                                4    claimed.
                                5  E.   That portion of tax credit that exceeds a
                                6    taxpayer's income tax liability in the taxable year in which
                                7    the credit is claimed shall be refunded to the taxpayer.
                                8  F.   Married individuals filing separate returns for
                                9    a taxable year for which they could have filed a joint return
                                10   may each claim only one-half of the tax credit that would have
                                11   been claimed on a joint return.
                                12  G.   A taxpayer may be allocated the right to claim
                                13   the tax credit in proportion to the taxpayer's ownership
                                14   interest if the taxpayer owns an interest in a business entity
                                15   that is taxed for federal income tax purposes as a partnership
                                16   or limited liability company and the business entity has met
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                                17   all requirements to be eligible for the credit.    The total
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                                18   credit claimed by all members of the partnership or limited
                                19   liability company shall not exceed the allowable credit
                                20   pursuant to this section.
                                21  H.   A taxpayer allowed to claim a tax credit
                                22   pursuant to this section shall claim the tax credit in a manner
                                23   required by the department.
                                24  I.   The credit provided by this section shall be
                                25   included in the tax expenditure budget pursuant to Section
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                                1    7-1-84 NMSA 1978, including the total annual aggregate cost of
                                2    the credit.
                                3  J.   As used in this section:
                                4  (1)   "local news organization" means an entity
                                5    that:
                                6  (a)   provides a print or digital
                                7    publication that engages professionals who regularly gather,
                                8    prepare, collect, photograph, record, direct the recording of,
                                9    produce, write, edit, report or publish news or information
                                10   that concerns state or local events or other matters of public
                                11   interest for dissemination to the state or a local community
                                12   through reporting activities, including conducting interviews,
                                13   observing current events or analyzing documents;
                                14  (b)   pays at least one individual, either
                                15   through employment or by contract with the entity, as a
                                16   qualified employee;
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                                17  (c)   in the case of print publications,
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                                18   has published at least one print publication per month over the
                                19   previous thirty-six months and holds a valid United States
                                20   postal service periodical permit or has at least thirty percent
                                21   of its content dedicated to state or local news;
                                22  (d)   in the case of digital-only
                                23   entities, has published at least five originally produced
                                24   stories about the state or a local community per week over the
                                25   previous thirty-six months and has at least fifty percent of
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                                1    its digital audience in New Mexico, averaged over a twelve-
                                2    month period;
                                3  (e)   discloses in the entity's print
                                4    publication or on the entity's website the entity's beneficial
                                5    ownership or, in the case of a not-for-profit entity, the
                                6    entity's board of directors;
                                7  (f)   in the case of an organization that
                                8    demonstrates to the department that the organization has been
                                9    granted exemption from the federal income tax by the United
                                10   States commissioner of internal revenue as organizations
                                11   described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
                                12   has declared the coverage of state or local news as the stated
                                13   mission in the organization's filings with the federal internal
                                14   revenue service;
                                15  (g)   has not received more than ten
                                16   percent of the entity's gross receipts for the previous year
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                                17   from political action committees or other entities described in
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                                18   Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, or from an
                                19   organization that has been granted exemption from the federal
                                20   income tax by the United States commissioner of internal
                                21   revenue as an organization described in Section 501(c)(4) or
                                22   501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code; and
                                23  (h)   is not a publicly traded entity or
                                24   is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
                                25   indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;
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                                1  (2)   "local news printer" means an entity that:
                                2  (a)   provides manufacturing, production
                                3    and printing services using a web press designed and optimized
                                4    for printing newspapers for a local news organization;
                                5  (b)   has been engaging in the business of
                                6    manufacturing, producing and printing newspapers for at least
                                7    five years;
                                8  (c)   employs at least five qualified
                                9    employees; and
                                10  (d)   is not a publicly traded entity or
                                11   is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
                                12   indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;
                                13  (3)   "qualified employee" means a person who:
                                14  (a)   is paid by a local news printer to
                                15   regularly perform duties related to pre-press, press and post-
                                16   press newspaper production to prepare newspapers for transition
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                                17   to delivery and distribution personnel;
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                                18  (b)   works at a physical location in New
                                19   Mexico; and
                                20  (c)   works as a qualified employee for
                                21   the local news printer for at least twenty-five percent of the
                                22   taxable year in which the credit is claimed; and
                                23  (4)   "wages" means compensation paid by a local
                                24   news printer to a qualified employee through the organization's
                                25   payroll system, including those wages that the qualified
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                                1    employee elects to defer or redirect or the qualified
                                2    employee's contribution to a 401(k) or cafeteria plan program.
                                3    "Wages" does not mean benefits or the organization's share of
                                4    payroll taxes, social security or medicare contributions,
                                5    federal or state unemployment insurance contributions or
                                6    workers' compensation."
                                7  SECTION 2.    A new section of the Corporate Income and
                                8    Franchise Tax Act is enacted to read:
                                9  "[NEW MATERIAL] LOCAL NEWS PRINTER CORPORATE INCOME TAX
                                10   CREDIT.--
                                11  A.   For taxable years prior to January 1, 2031, a
                                12   taxpayer that is an owner of a local news printer that employs
                                13   a qualified employee may claim a credit against the taxpayer's
                                14   tax liability imposed pursuant to the Corporate Income and
                                15   Franchise Tax Act in an amount provided in Subsection B of this
                                16   section.    The tax credit provided by this section may be
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                                17   referred to as the "local news printer corporate income tax
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                                18   credit".
                                19  B.   The amount of tax credit shall be in an amount
                                20   equal to the wages paid to each qualified employee employed by
                                21   a local news printer in the taxable year for which the tax
                                22   credit is claimed, not to exceed:
                                23  (1)   ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a
                                24   qualified employee working an average of twenty hours or more
                                25   per week in the taxable year; and
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                                1  (2)   five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a
                                2    qualified employee working an average of less than twenty hours
                                3    per week in the taxable year.
                                4  C.   A taxpayer shall apply for certification of
                                5    eligibility for the tax credit from the department on forms and
                                6    in the manner prescribed by the department.    A taxpayer shall
                                7    not be eligible to receive a tax credit for more than one
                                8    hundred qualified employees whom the taxpayer employs as a
                                9    local news printer and only one tax credit shall be certified
                                10   for each qualified employee employed by a local news printer
                                11   per taxable year.    The total annual aggregate amount of local
                                12   news printer corporate income tax credits and local news
                                13   printer income tax credits that may be certified in a calendar
                                14   year shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000).
                                15   Completed applications shall be considered in the order
                                16   received.
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                                17  D.   If the department determines that the taxpayer
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                                18   meets the requirements of this section, the department shall
                                19   issue a dated certificate of eligibility to the taxpayer
                                20   providing the amount of tax credit for which the taxpayer is
                                21   eligible and the taxable years in which the credit may be
                                22   claimed.
                                23  E.   That portion of tax credit that exceeds a
                                24   taxpayer's income tax liability in the taxable year in which
                                25   the credit is claimed shall be refunded to the taxpayer.
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                                1  F.   A taxpayer allowed to claim a tax credit
                                2    pursuant to this section shall claim the tax credit in a manner
                                3    required by the department.
                                4  G.   The credit provided by this section shall be
                                5    included in the tax expenditure budget pursuant to Section
                                6    7-1-84 NMSA 1978, including the total annual aggregate cost of
                                7    the credit.
                                8  H.   As used in this section:
                                9  (1)   "local news organization" means an entity
                                10   that:
                                11  (a)   provides a print or digital
                                12   publication that engages professionals who regularly gather,
                                13   prepare, collect, photograph, record, direct the recording of,
                                14   produce, write, edit, report or publish news or information
                                15   that concerns state or local events or other matters of public
                                16   interest for dissemination to the state or a local community
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                                17   through reporting activities, including conducting interviews,
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                                18   observing current events or analyzing documents;
                                19  (b)   pays at least one individual, either
                                20   through employment or by contract with the entity, as a
                                21   qualified employee;
                                22  (c)   in the case of print publications,
                                23   has published at least one print publication per month over the
                                24   previous thirty-six months and holds a valid United States
                                25   postal service periodical permit or has at least thirty percent
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                                1    of the entity's content dedicated to state or local news;
                                2  (d)   in the case of digital-only
                                3    entities, has published at least five originally produced
                                4    stories about the state or a local community per week over the
                                5    previous thirty-six months and has at least fifty percent of
                                6    the entity's digital audience in New Mexico, averaged over a
                                7    twelve-month period;
                                8  (e)   discloses in the entity's print
                                9    publication or on the entity's website the entity's beneficial
                                10   ownership or, in the case of a not-for-profit entity, the
                                11   entity's board of directors;
                                12  (f)   in the case of an organization that
                                13   demonstrates to the department that the organization has been
                                14   granted exemption from the federal income tax by the United
                                15   States commissioner of internal revenue as organizations
                                16   described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
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                                17   has declared the coverage of state or local news as the stated
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                                18   mission in the organization's filings with the federal internal
                                19   revenue service;
                                20  (g)   has not received more than ten
                                21   percent of the entity's gross receipts for the previous year
                                22   from political action committees or other entities described in
                                23   Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, or from an
                                24   organization that has been granted exemption from the federal
                                25   income tax by the United States commissioner of internal
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                                1    revenue as an organization described in Section 501(c)(4) or
                                2    501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code; and
                                3  (h)   is not a publicly traded entity or
                                4    is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
                                5    indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;
                                6  (2)   "local news printer" means an entity that:
                                7  (a)   provides manufacturing, production
                                8    and printing services using a web press designed and optimized
                                9    for printing newspapers for a local news organization;
                                10  (b)   has been engaging in the business of
                                11   manufacturing, producing and printing newspapers for at least
                                12   five years;
                                13  (c)   employs at least five qualified
                                14   employees; and
                                15  (d)   is not a publicly traded entity or
                                16   is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
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                                17   indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;
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                                18  (3)   "qualified employee" means a person who:
                                19  (a)   is paid by a local news printer to
                                20   regularly perform duties related to pre-press, press and post-
                                21   press newspaper production to prepare newspapers for transition
                                22   to delivery and distribution personnel;
                                23  (b)   works at a physical location in New
                                24   Mexico; and
                                25  (c)   works as a qualified employee for
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                                1    the local news printer for at least twenty-five percent of the
                                2    taxable year in which the credit is claimed; and
                                3  (4)   "wages" means compensation paid by a local
                                4    news printer to a qualified employee through the organization's
                                5    payroll system, including those wages that the qualified
                                6    employee elects to defer or redirect or the qualified
                                7    employee's contribution to a 401(k) or cafeteria plan program.
                                8    "Wages" does not mean benefits or the organization's share of
                                9    payroll taxes, social security or medicare contributions,
                                10   federal or state unemployment insurance contributions or
                                11   workers' compensation."
                                12        SECTION 3.    APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act
                                13   apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
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