RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; REVISING THE RATE OF DISTRIBUTION FROM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PROTECTION FUND; AMENDING A SECTION OF THE NMSA 1978.

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

Section 1. Section 29-13-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 179, Section 6) is amended to read:

"29-13-4. DETERMINATION OF NEEDS AND RATE OF DISTRIBUTION.--

A. Annually on or before April 15, the division shall:

(1) consider and determine the relative needs as requested by municipal and university police and county sheriff's departments for money in the fund pursuant to the provisions of Subsection B of this section; and

(2) calculate the amount of consideration due a tribal police department pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (10) of Subsection C of Section 29-1-11 NMSA 1978.

B. The division shall determine the rate of distribution of money in the fund to each municipal and university police and county sheriff's department as follows:

(1) all municipal police and county sheriff's departments shall be rated by class pursuant to this paragraph in accordance with populations established by the most recently completed decennial census; provided that the population of any county shall not include the population of any municipality within that county that has a municipal police department. The rate of distribution to which a municipal police or county sheriff's department is entitled is the following:

CLASS POPULATION AMOUNT

1 0 to 20,000 $20,000

2 20,001 to 160,000 30,000

3 160,001 to 1,280,000 40,000;

(2) university police departments shall be entitled to a rate of distribution of seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000); and

(3) municipal and university police and county sheriff's departments shall be entitled, unless allocations are adjusted pursuant to the provisions of Subsection C of this section, to six hundred dollars ($600) for each police officer or sheriff's deputy employed full time by his department who has been certified by the New Mexico law enforcement academy as a police officer or has been authorized to act as a New Mexico peace officer pursuant to the provisions of Section 29-1-11 NMSA 1978.

C. After distributions are determined in accordance with Paragraph (2) of Subsection A and Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection B of this section, if the balance in the fund is insufficient to permit the total allocations provided by Paragraph (3) of Subsection B of this section, the division shall reduce that allocation to the maximum amount permitted by available money."