Operations and construction at one of the nation's premier nuclear weapons research laboratories account for millions of dollars in tax revenue for New Mexico and some local governments.
But those revenues could take a hit depending on who's tapped to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory after 2017.
Federal officials recently confirmed that the $2 billion contract to manage the lab will be put out for bid due to failures over the past four years to meet certain performance goals.
Since 2006, the lab has been managed by a consortium that includes the University of California and other for-profit companies.
The consortium's status requires it to pay more than $100 million in gross receipts taxes to the state in most years. The community of Los Alamos also gets the majority of its revenues from lab operations.
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