As the state’s legislative session nears a close, a committee in the New Mexico House of Representatives was set to vote today on a bill that would levy a gross-receipts tax on nonprofit national lab operators in the state — a category locals worry could include the next manager of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
The House Taxation and Revenue Committee vote is due today, according to the state Legislature’s website. The bill passed the state Senate on a 31-4 bipartisan vote last week after clearing jurisdictional committees unanimously in the upper chamber.
Local interest groups spearheaded Senate Bill 17 after fretting that the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) might award the next LANL prime contract to a nonprofit entity. universities — the University of California, University of Texas, and Texas A&M University — have said they are seeking the contract, while other institutions might also be in the hunt.
New Mexico’s legislative session is set to end Thursday, which means bill proponents are running out of time to keep any lab operator on the hook for the millions of dollars in gross receipts taxes the Los Alamos National Laboratory brings in every year. Incumbent Los Alamos National Security, on the job since 2006 as the lab’s first and only for-profit manager, brought in an estimated $25 million to $30 million in state and local gross receipts taxes last year, local advocates estimate.
The Energy Department decided to cancel Los Alamos National Security’s contract after a number of nuclear safety lapses. The federal agency expects to award a new lab-management contract in April or May. The incumbent’s contract runs out Sept. 30.
Among the companies that make up the incumbent lab prime,, sources say Bechtel National is part of a bid with Purdue University of Indiana, while AECOM is reportedly not bidding. BWX Technologies has acknowledged it is interested in the follow-on work, but has not commented beyond that. The University of California, which managed Los Alamos solo for most of the lab’s existence, is leading a bid with unidentified industry teammates.
