HOUSE BILL 48
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Patricia A. Lundstrom
AN ACT
RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; AMENDING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PROTECTION FUND; PROVIDING FUNDS FOR CERTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AT STATE-SUPPORTED COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
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, as amended) is amended to read:
"29-13-4. DETERMINATION OF NEEDS AND RATE OF DISTRIBUTION.--
A. Annually on or before April 15, the division shall consider and determine the relative needs as requested by tribal, municipal, school district and university police departments, county sheriff's departments, the department of public safety and the academy for money in the fund in the succeeding fiscal year pursuant to the provisions of Subsections C and E of this section.
B. As necessary during the year, the division shall transfer an amount from the fund to the peace officers', New Mexico mounted patrol members' and reserve police officers' survivors fund that enables the balance of the peace officers', New Mexico mounted patrol members' and reserve police officers' survivors fund to be maintained at a minimum balance of three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) through fiscal year 2023 and one million dollars ($1,000,000) thereafter.
C. The division shall determine the rate of distribution of money in the fund as follows:
(1) all municipal police, school district police and county sheriff's departments shall be entitled to a rate of distribution of forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000) through fiscal year 2023 and ninety-five thousand dollars ($95,000) thereafter;
(2) university police departments shall be entitled to a rate of distribution of forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000) through fiscal year 2023 and ninety-five thousand dollars ($95,000) thereafter;
(3) the academy shall be entitled to a rate of distribution of twenty-four thousand five hundred dollars ($24,500) to carry out the purposes of Section 29-7-7.7 NMSA 1978 and to a rate of distribution of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) to carry out the purposes of the Law Enforcement Training Act;
(4) tribal police departments shall be entitled, unless allocations are adjusted pursuant to the provisions of Subsection D of this section, to one thousand dollars ($1,000) through fiscal year 2023 and one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) thereafter for each commissioned peace officer in the tribe. To be counted as a commissioned peace officer for the purposes of this paragraph, a commissioned peace officer shall have been assigned to duty and have worked in New Mexico for no fewer than two hundred days in the calendar year immediately prior to the date of payment. Payments shall be made for only those divisions of the tribal police departments that perform services in New Mexico. A tribal police department shall not be eligible for any disbursement under the fund if commissioned peace officers cite non-Indians into the tribal court for civil or criminal citations;
(5) municipal, school district and university police and county sheriff's departments shall be entitled, unless allocations are adjusted pursuant to the provisions of Subsection D of this section, to one thousand dollars ($1,000) through fiscal year 2023 and one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) thereafter for each police officer or sheriff's deputy employed full time by that department who has been certified by the law enforcement certification board 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; [and]
(6) municipal police, sheriff's and school district police departments that assign officers as school resource officers shall be entitled to one thousand dollars ($1,000) through fiscal year 2023 and one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) thereafter for each assigned school resource officer's training pursuant to Section 29-7-14 NMSA 1978; and
(7) western New Mexico university, branch campuses of institutions of higher learning enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico and state-supported community colleges that offer law enforcement training certified by the academy shall be entitled to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for faculty salaries and benefits, instructional materials and related course expenses.
D. After distributions are determined in accordance with Subsection A, Subsection B and Paragraphs (1), (2), (3), [and] (6) and (7) of Subsection C of this section, if the balance in the fund is insufficient to permit the total allocations provided by Paragraphs (4) and (5) of Subsection C of this section, the division shall reduce that allocation to the maximum amount permitted by available money.
E. After all distributions have been made in accordance with Subsections A through D of this section, and if the balance in the fund is sufficient, the department of public safety shall be entitled to a rate of distribution of not more than two million dollars ($2,000,000).
F. The division shall confirm, before making any distribution under this section, that the beneficiary is in compliance with all of the beneficiary's statutory reporting requirements, including those described in Subsection C of Section 29-3-11 NMSA 1978, Subsection B of Section 29-7-7.1 NMSA 1978 and Sections 29-7-7.2, 29-7C-7 and 29-7C-8 NMSA 1978."
SECTION 2. Section 29-13-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 289, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:
"29-13-7. EXPENDITURE LIMITATION--CONTROL.--
A. Except as provided for the academy and the department of public safety in Subsections B and C of this section, amounts distributed from the fund shall be expended only for the following:
(1) the repair and purchase of law enforcement apparatus and equipment, including the financing and refinancing thereof, that meet minimum nationally recognized standards;
(2) the purchase of law enforcement equipment, including protective vests, for police dogs;
(3) expenses associated with advanced law enforcement planning and training;
(4) maintaining the balance of the peace officers', New Mexico mounted patrol members' and reserve police officers' survivors fund at a minimum amount of three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) through fiscal year 2023 and one million dollars ($1,000,000) thereafter;
(5) complying with match or contribution requirements for the receipt of federal funds relating to criminal justice programs;
(6) no more than fifty percent of the replacement salaries of municipal and county law enforcement personnel of municipalities or counties participating in basic law enforcement training;
(7) a law enforcement officer retention differential in the amount of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500); provided that:
(a) the distribution is requested by a municipality or county law enforcement agency to retain a law enforcement officer who is certified in accordance with the Law Enforcement Training Act and has at least twenty years of actual service credit earned under a municipal police member coverage plan as determined by the public employees retirement association;
(b) the municipality or county law enforcement agency provides seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) in matching funds to the law enforcement officer;
(c) the law enforcement officer remains employed with that municipality or county law enforcement agency for one additional year; and
(d) the distribution and the matching funds paid to a law enforcement officer shall not constitute the officer's base salary or wages and shall not be considered to be salary or otherwise be used to determine a pension for the purposes of the Public Employees Retirement Act; [and]
(8) recruiting, providing stipends for and training law enforcement officers engaged in community-oriented policing; provided that any law enforcement officer who receives a stipend in accordance with this paragraph remains employed with the law enforcement agency providing the stipend for one additional year; and
(9) faculty salaries and benefits, instructional materials and related course expenses for certified law enforcement training conducted by western New Mexico university, branch campuses of institutions of higher learning enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico and state-supported community colleges.
B. For the academy, amounts distributed from the fund shall be expended only for providing tourniquet and trauma kits and training on the use of tourniquet and trauma kits pursuant to Section 29-7-7.7 NMSA 1978 and to carry out the purposes of the Law Enforcement Training Act.
C. The amount distributed to the department of public safety:
(1) shall:
(a) be used only to offset overtime-pay-related expenses incurred directly by the department of public safety from the special deployment of state police officers or other emergency assistance to counties or municipalities in response to critical circumstances as authorized by the governor; and
(b) not be expended to hire new personnel; and
(2) may be expended for costs, including travel, fuel, overtime, per diem and ammunition.
D. Amounts distributed from the fund shall be expended only pursuant to approved budgets and upon duly executed vouchers approved as required by law."
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.
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