SB0407

SENATE BILL 407

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. López and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez

AN ACT

RELATING TO CIVIL ACTIONS; ENACTING THE WRONGFUL CONVICTION COMPENSATION AND SERVICES ACT; PROVIDING FOR DAMAGES AND OTHER RELIEF FOR A WRONGFULLY CONVICTED PERSON; REQUIRING NOTICE OF THE RIGHT TO FILE A PETITION FOR RELIEF; REQUIRING RULEMAKING; CREATING THE WRONGFUL CONVICTION COMPENSATION FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act".

SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act:

A. "conviction" means, under the laws of New Mexico, conviction of a crime or adjudication of delinquency for a crime by a children's court;

B. "correctional facility" means a:

(1) state correctional facility;

(2) privately operated correctional facility;

(3) county jail;

(4) privately operated jail;

(5) detention facility operated under the authority of the children, youth and families department that holds a person pending a court hearing; or

(6) facility operated under the authority of the children, youth and families department that provides for the care and rehabilitation of a person who is younger than eighteen years of age and who has committed an act that would be designated a crime under the law if committed by a person who is eighteen years of age or older;

C. "incarceration" means a released person's:

(1) confinement in a correctional facility; or

(2) involuntary confinement in the New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas or another behavioral health facility;

D. "petition" means a petition for relief filed pursuant to the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act;

E. "petitioner" means:

(1) a released person who files a petition; or

(2) if a released person is deceased, the executor or administrator of the person's estate or the person's personal representative who files a petition;

F. "released person" means a person who:

(1) under the laws of New Mexico, was convicted of and sentenced for a crime or adjudicated as a delinquent child for a crime by a children's court; and

(2) is the subject of a petition; and

G. "sentenced" means, in connection with a conviction, a released person was sentenced to a period of incarceration, parole, probation or registration on the registry for sex offenders.

SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] PETITION--REQUIREMENTS--PARTIES.--

A. A petitioner shall file a petition in district court within the time limitations provided in Section 9 of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act.

B. A district court in which a petition is filed shall:

(1) set a hearing on the petition no more than one hundred eighty days from the date the petition is filed, unless good cause exists to set the hearing at a later date; and

(2) provide notice of the hearing to the petitioner and to the state department of justice no fewer than ninety days before the hearing date.

C. The state department of justice may offer evidence and arguments in opposition to a petition.

SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBILITY FOR RELIEF--STANDARDS OF PROOF.--

A. Unless one or more of the standards provided in Subsection C of this section are met, a petition shall be granted if a petitioner establishes each of the following, with respect to the released person to whom the petition relates, by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(1) the person was convicted and sentenced based on the conviction;

(2) the person served all or part of the sentence;

(3) the person did not commit the crime that resulted in the conviction or the crime that resulted in the conviction was not committed; and

(4) the person was pardoned or the person's conviction was overturned, reversed or vacated on direct or collateral review, and if the person's conviction was overturned, reversed or vacated:

(a) after the conviction was overturned, reversed or vacated, the person was not convicted of any lesser included felony that arose from the same facts as the crime that resulted in the person's conviction, except for a conviction of a lesser included felony that resulted from an Alford plea or a plea of no contest while maintaining a claim of innocence; and

(b) one of the following: 1) the charge at issue in the conviction was dismissed or the person was acquitted of the charge upon retrial; or 2) if the person would otherwise have been entitled to a new trial, the person entered an Alford plea or a plea of no contest while maintaining a claim of innocence.

B. A petitioner may establish the eligibility requirements in Paragraphs (3) and (4) of Subsection A of this section by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that, prior to the filing of the petition, a court:

(1) found that the released person did not commit the crime that resulted in the conviction or that the crime was not committed; or

(2) granted a habeas corpus petition based on a finding that the released person established by clear and convincing evidence that, in light of new evidence, no reasonable juror would have convicted the released person.

C. A petition shall be denied if the attorney general, in opposition to the petition, establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(1) the released person was an accomplice in the commission of the crime for which the person was convicted; or

(2) the released person intentionally and voluntarily caused the person's own conviction by committing perjury or fabricating evidence at trial to prevent the actual perpetrator of the crime from being convicted.

SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] JUDICIAL DISCRETION--ADMISSIBILITY.--

A. In exercising its discretion regarding the weight given to and admissibility of evidence presented by a petitioner, a district court shall give due consideration to difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence and other difficulties of proof not caused by the petitioner or the state department of justice.

B. The fact that a petition is granted or denied shall not be admissible evidence in any other proceeding.

SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] RELIEF.--

A. A petitioner whose petition is granted shall be awarded the following relief in connection with the released person's conviction:

(1) noneconomic damages that arise from the conviction, according to proof by the petitioner, and including damages for loss of liberty and pain and suffering, in an amount not less than:

(a) one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for each year of the released person's incarceration while awaiting a sentence of death based on the conviction, prorated by the day for any partial years;

(b) seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for each year of the released person's incarceration, other than while awaiting a sentence of death, based on the conviction, prorated by the day for any partial years; and

(c) fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each year the released person spent on parole or probation or subject to a requirement to register on the registry for sex offenders based on the conviction, prorated by the day for any partial years;

(2) economic damages that arise from the conviction, according to proof by the petitioner;

(3) compensation to persons entitled to child support payments owed by the released person that became due, and interest on child support arrearage that accrued, but were not paid during the released person's incarceration;

(4) reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by the petitioner in getting the conviction overturned, reversed or vacated or in obtaining a pardon for the conviction;

(5) reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by the petitioner in obtaining relief under the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act; provided, however, that a petitioner's attorneys shall not collect any fees or costs in excess of any amount awarded under this paragraph;

(6) reimbursement for any costs, fines, fees or other charges imposed on a released person as a result of the conviction that were paid by or on behalf of the released person or petitioner and were not already otherwise reimbursed;

(7) reimbursement for any restitution amounts paid by or on behalf of the released person or petitioner as a result of the conviction that were not already otherwise reimbursed; and

(8) reimbursement for any reasonable reintegration services and mental and physical health care costs incurred by the released person for the period between the released person's release from incarceration and the date of an award of relief pursuant to the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act.

B. Unless one or more of the standards provided in Subsection C of this section are met, a petitioner is not entitled to relief provided for in Subparagraph (a) or (b) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of this section for any period of time during which the released person was serving a concurrent sentence for a separate crime for which:

(1) the released person's conviction was not overturned, reversed or vacated; or

(2) the released person was not pardoned.

C. The provisions of Subsection B of this section shall not apply to the extent that:

(1) the term of a concurrent sentence for a separate crime not at issue in a petition was longer than it would have been absent the conviction at issue in the petition; or

(2) the separate conviction not at issue in a petition, for which the released person was serving a concurrent sentence, was based on an Alford plea or a plea of no contest while maintaining a claim of innocence, which plea was entered by the released person to resolve the case in connection with the other crime after the crime at issue in the petition was overturned, reversed or vacated on direct or collateral review; and the released person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(a) the released person did not commit the crime that resulted in the Alford plea or no contest plea; or

(b) there was no crime committed.

D. Upon granting a petition, the monetary amounts provided in Subparagraphs (a) through (c) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of this section shall be adjusted by the percentage increase or decrease in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, west region, from the effective date of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act to the date a petition is granted.

E. Damages awarded to a petitioner shall be paid in a lump sum.

F. The amount of damages awarded to a petitioner is not subject to offset for:

(1) costs or expenses incurred by the state or any subdivision of the state to secure the petitioner's incarceration or to feed, clothe or provide medical or any other services to the released person during the person's incarceration;

(2) the value of any goods or services provided to the released person pursuant to the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act; or

(3) costs for or associated with provision of a defense for an indigent released person pursuant to the Indigent Defense Act.

G. If, prior to an award of relief pursuant to this section, a petitioner receives a monetary award or enters into a settlement agreement that provides for monetary damages in a civil action for wrongful conviction or wrongful incarceration in connection with the conviction that is the subject of the petitioner's petition, excluding any attorney fees, expenses and other costs paid by the petitioner in seeking and obtaining the award or settlement in the civil action:

(1) any award of noneconomic relief pursuant to this section shall be reduced by an amount equal to any noneconomic damages received in the related civil action; and

(2) any award of economic relief pursuant to this section shall be reduced by an amount equal to any economic damages received in the related civil action.

H. If, subsequent to receipt of relief pursuant to the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act, a petitioner receives an award of monetary damages or enters into a settlement agreement that provides for monetary damages in a civil action for wrongful conviction or incarceration that is based on the same conviction as the conviction that is the subject of the petitioner's petition, the petitioner shall:

(1) deduct from the amount of damages received in the civil action any amounts paid by the petitioner in that civil action for attorney fees, expenses and other costs; and

(2) from the remainder, reimburse the state for any noneconomic and economic relief received pursuant to the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act.

I. When a petition is granted, the district court shall:

(1) enter an order of expungement pursuant to Section 29-3A-4 NMSA 1978 or an order sealing records and files pursuant to Section 32A-2-26 NMSA 1978, as applicable to the petition. The expungement or sealing order shall provide that the petitioner is entitled, upon request to the department of public safety, to copies of the arrest and other criminal records related to the conviction at issue in the petition; and

(2) provide notice of the granted petition to the state department of justice and include a description of each conviction at issue in the petition, the fact and date of the district court's finding of innocence on each conviction and the time periods of the released person's incarceration with respect to which the petitioner was awarded relief pursuant to the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act.

J. Within sixty days of receipt of the notice provided pursuant to Subsection I of this section, the state department of justice shall provide to the petitioner a letter no longer than one page in length, on state department of justice letterhead and signed by or on behalf of the attorney general that:

(1) states that the released person was found to be innocent of the crimes at issue in the petition; and

(2) lists, as applicable, the time periods during which the released person was wrongfully incarcerated, wrongfully on parole or probation or wrongfully required to register on the registry for sex offenders.

K. A petitioner's acceptance of relief pursuant to the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act does not preclude the petitioner from seeking or obtaining other damages or relief available under the law.

SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES.--

A. A released person released from incarceration after the person's conviction is reversed, overturned or vacated, or the person is pardoned, shall be eligible for and the state shall provide:

(1) a stipend of two thousand dollars ($2,000) to assist with the person's transition from incarceration, to be provided upon release or as soon thereafter as possible; and

(2) for a period of two years from the date the person is released, at no cost to the person:

(a) services, programs and housing in community corrections outpatient programs and community corrections residential programs;

(b) public assistance grants pursuant to the Public Assistance Act; provided, however, that the person shall not be required to meet the applicable standard of need pursuant to Section 27-2-3 NMSA 1978 or the maximum permissible resources established by the health care authority;

(c) health, vision and dental insurance coverage at no cost to the person, whether provided through medicaid pursuant to the Public Assistance Act, the New Mexico health insurance exchange under 42 U.S.C. Section 18001 et seq. or another comparable health insurance program;

(d) food benefits in the maximum benefit amount for the supplemental nutrition assistance program for a household size of one; provided, however, that the person shall not be required to meet the applicable eligibility requirements set forth in Title 8, Chapter 139 of the New Mexico Administrative Code;

(e) a medicaid personal spending allowance pursuant to Section 27-2-12.9 NMSA 1978; provided, however, that the person shall not be required to meet the applicable eligibility requirements set forth in that section; and

(f) utility assistance pursuant to the Low Income Utility Assistance Act; provided, however, that the person shall not be required to meet the applicable eligibility requirements set forth in that act.

B. Within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act, the health care authority shall:

(1) promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section;

(2) create an application form for use in applying for the benefits described in this section;

(3) designate the person or division within the health care authority to process applications;

(4) document and implement procedures to ensure a determination on each application is made and communicated to the applicant within fourteen days of submission of the application; and

(5) commence provision of benefits provided for in this section within seven days of approval of an application.

C. Identifying information for each released person released from incarceration because the person's conviction is overturned, vacated or reversed, or because the person was pardoned, shall be provided to the health care authority on or before the date of the person's release by the corrections department, the children, youth and families department or the other state or local government agency responsible for the correctional facility or program from which the person was released. Within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act, the corrections department, the children, youth and families department and all other state and local government departments and agencies responsible for a correctional facility or program in which persons are incarcerated shall promulgate rules to ensure that upon a person's release as provided in this subsection, the person is provided:

(1) an application form for benefits provided for in this section; and

(2) the transition assistance stipend provided for in this section.

SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] NOTICE OF RIGHT TO FILE A PETITION.--

A. If a released person's conviction is overturned, vacated or reversed, upon entry of a dismissal, judgment of acquittal or judgment on an Alford plea or a plea of no contest while maintaining innocence, the court shall:

(1) provide the person with a copy of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act;

(2) on a form approved by the New Mexico supreme court, obtain the person's written acknowledgment of receipt of the copy; and

(3) enter the person's written acknowledgment on the case docket.

B. Upon the issuance of a pardon to a released person, the office of the governor shall:

(1) provide the pardoned person with a copy of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act;

(2) obtain the pardoned person's written acknowledgment of receipt of the copy on a form provided by the office of the governor; and

(3) retain a copy of the acknowledgment in the office's official records.

C. The written acknowledgments provided for in Subsections A and B of this section shall be admissible in any proceeding subsequently filed by the person under the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act.

SECTION 9. [NEW MATERIAL] TIME TO FILE PETITION.--

A. A person who receives notice of the right to file a petition pursuant to Section 8 of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act shall file a petition within six years of the date on which notice was provided.

B. A person who was sentenced to a period of incarceration, probation, parole or required registration on the registry for sex offenders based on a conviction prior to the effective date of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act shall file a petition under that act within six years of the effective date of that act.

C. If, on or after a date two years before the date on which the right to file a petition will end, a released person obtains new evidence of the person's innocence that the person could not previously have obtained with reasonable diligence, the released person may file a petition under the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act within four years of the date on which the petitioner obtains the new evidence.

SECTION 10. [NEW MATERIAL] NO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY DEFENSE.--The state shall not assert sovereign immunity or immunity pursuant to the Tort Claims Act as a defense or bar to a petition filed in accordance with the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act.

SECTION 11. [NEW MATERIAL] WRONGFUL CONVICTION COMPENSATION FUND.--The "wrongful conviction compensation fund" is created in the state treasury and shall be administered by the state department of justice. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and bequests made to the fund. Income from the fund shall be credited to the fund, and money in the fund shall not revert or be transferred to any other fund at the end of a fiscal year. Money in the fund is appropriated for the purposes of paying petitioners awarded relief under the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act. Disbursements from the fund shall be made by warrant of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the attorney general or the attorney general's authorized representative.

SECTION 12. [NEW MATERIAL] LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION.--The Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act shall be liberally construed to carry out its purposes.

SECTION 13. APPROPRIATION.--Nine million dollars ($9,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the wrongful conviction compensation fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2026 and subsequent fiscal years to carry out the purposes of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.

SECTION 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.

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