Bill > HB333

This bill, titled the "Equal Opportunity Scholarship Act," establishes a program to provide educational scholarships to eligible students and offers tax credits to individuals and corporations that contribute to qualifying tuition scholarship organizations. An "eligible student" is defined as one from a household below a certain income threshold (qualifying for reduced-price lunch), who has attended a New Mexico public school or is new to the state, and resides in New Mexico while receiving the scholarship. A "tuition scholarship organization" is a non-profit that provides these scholarships to students attending "qualified schools," which are non-public schools chosen by parents, excluding home schools. To be certified, these organizations must meet strict criteria, including being federally tax-exempt, awarding at least 90% of contributions as scholarships, ensuring financial accountability through audits, and prioritizing students from low-performing schools. The bill creates an "equal opportunity scholarship tax credit" for individuals and a similar credit for corporations, allowing them to claim 90% of their contributions to these organizations as a tax credit, up to certain limits, with an annual aggregate cap of $5 million for both types of credits combined. The bill also adjusts how public school funding is calculated by accounting for students participating in these scholarship programs.