SENATE CONSERVATION COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL 21

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO PRESCRIBED BURNING; PROHIBITING THE USE OF PRESCRIBED BURNING DURING THE SPRING.

 

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

     SECTION 1. Section 68-5-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021, Chapter 13, Section 3) is amended to read:

     "68-5-3. PRESCRIBED BURN USE.--

          A. Prescribed burning is considered in the public interest and not a public or private nuisance.

          B. Except as limited in Subsection C of this section, a private landowner or a private landowner's agent, contractor or legally authorized designee shall have a right to conduct a prescribed burn on the landowner's property, except when the state forester or a county or municipality issues restrictions prohibiting a prescribed burn because of drought conditions; provided that the prescribed burn is conducted with appropriate precautionary measures, including: the use of sufficient personnel and equipment; the prior notification of local fire officials; burn and contingency planning; and the use of appropriate prescribed burn techniques that cause the fire to be confined to a predetermined area.

          C. A prescribed burn shall not be conducted on any day between March 1 and May 31 of any year when the national weather service has issued a red flag warning for that day for the area where the prescribed burn is planned to take place."

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