Legislation that allows New Mexico to collect gross receipts taxes from nonprofit entities that run Department of Energy national laboratories there flew through the state Senate and now is set for its first committee stop in the House of Representatives.
The House Taxation and Revenue Committee had not yet scheduled action on the bill at deadline Wednesday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, though a committee staffer said lawmakers might consider the measure Saturday or Sunday. The bill passed the state Senate on a 31-4 bipartisan vote Sunday after clearing jurisdictional committees unanimously in the upper chamber.
If signed by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R), the legislation would allow the state to levy its gross receipts tax — essentially a tax on revenue — on a nonprofit national lab operator. Local interest groups spearheaded the bill after fretting that the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) might award the next Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) prime contract to a nonprofit entity.
The for-profit incumbent, Los Alamos National Security, brings in $25 million to $30 million a year in state gross receipts tax alone, bill proponents estimate. Los Alamos County also levels a gross receipts tax on top of the state’s take.
The University of California, the University of Texas, and Texas A&M University, have confirmed they are involved with bids to run Los Alamos for 10 years after Los Alamos National Security is off the job Oct. 1. The University of California is part of the incumbent, with lead corporate partner Bechtel National and industry teammates AECOM and BWX Technologies.
Los Alamos National Security is the only for-profit entity to manage the 70-plus-year-old nuclear weapons lab, which previously was run by the University of California. The partnership has been on the job since 2006 under a contract DOE decided to cancel in 2014 after nuclear safety lapses.
The NNSA is expected to award the next LANL management contract in April or May. Among the incumbents, sources say Bechtel National is part of a bid with Purdue University of Indiana, while AECOM is not bidding. BWX Technologies has acknowledged it is interested in the follow-on work, but has not commented beyond that.
