FORTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE

FIRST SESSION, 2009

March 5, 2009

Mr. Speaker:

    Your CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, to whom has been referred

HOUSE BILL 757

has had it under consideration and reports same WITHOUT RECOMMENDATION, amended as follows:

     1. On page 5, line 19, strike "The" and insert in lieu thereof "Except as provided in Section 73-14-29.7 NMSA 1978, the".

     2. On page 7, line 20, after the period strike "The" and insert in lieu thereof "Except as provided in Section 73-14-29.7 NMSA 1978, the".

     3. On page 15, between lines 18 and 19, insert the following new section:

     "Section 14. A new Section 73-14-29.7 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "73-14-29.7. [NEW MATERIAL] VOTING BY QUALIFIED ELECTORS WHO RESIDE IN A PUEBLO.--For qualified electors residing in a pueblo, the election officer or election director shall not mail the ballot to the qualified electors but shall mail all the ballots for the

qualified electors of that pueblo to the governing body of the

pueblo. The governing body shall be responsible for conducting the election for those qualified electors residing on the pueblo. It may either distribute the ballots to the qualified electors of that pueblo, collect the completed ballots and mail the completed ballots to the election officer or election director or it may establish a polling place on the pueblo on election day, collect the completed ballots and deliver them to the election officer or election director by 10:00 p.m. on election day. For purposes of Subsection A of Section 73-14-29.1 NMSA 1978, the date of the mailing of a ballot to a qualified elector shall be the day that the ballot was mailed to the governing body of the pueblo and the date a completed ballot is received shall be the date that the completed ballot is received by the election officer or election director from the governing body of the pueblo; provided that, notwithstanding the time limitation of Subsection B of Section 73-14-29.3 NMSA 1978, if the governing body chooses to have a polling place on the pueblo on election day, the election officer or election director shall accept completed official mailing envelopes if they are delivered by the governing body of the pueblo before 10:00 p.m. on election day."".

     4. Renumber the succeeding sections accordingly.

     5. On page 15, line 20, strike "yNMSA" and insert in lieu thereof "NMSA".,

and thence referred to the VOTERS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE.