Voters in three southern New Mexico counties are still scheduled to go to the polls early next month to vote on a quarter-cent gross receipts tax that would be used to help finance Spaceport America. The most populous of the three counties, Doña Ana, has now put some conditions on the use of those tax revenues, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. The conditions, approved by county supervisors Tuesday, would allow the county to revoke the tax should three conditions not be met by the end of 2008:
- The projected cost of the spaceport remains no more than $225 million;
- The spaceport obtains an FAA license;
- A lease agreement with Virgin Galactic is signed.
None of the conditions appear to be particularly surprising nor onerous, since the state already has an initial agreement with Virgin Galactic and is working on getting a spaceport license from the FAA. A bigger concern might be the cost estimate, although there’s no evidence any significant cost overruns on the project.
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