44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; REPEALING THE MANDATORY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978 TO CONFORM.

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

Section 1. Section 66-1-4.6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990, Chapter 120, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.6. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle Code:

A. "farm tractor" means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines and other implements of husbandry;

[B. "financial responsibility" means the ability to respond in damages for liability resulting from traffic accidents arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle of a type subject to registration under the laws of New Mexico, in amounts not less than specified in the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act or having in effect a motor vehicle insurance policy. "Financial responsibility" includes a motor vehicle insurance policy, a surety bond or evidence of a sufficient cash deposit with the state treasurer;

C.] B. "first offender" means a person who for the first time under state or federal law or municipal ordinance has been adjudicated guilty of the charge of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any other drug that renders the person incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle, regardless of whether the person's sentence was suspended or deferred;

[D.] C. "flammable liquid" means any liquid that has a flash point of seventy degrees fahrenheit or less, as determined by a tagliabue or equivalent closed-cup test device;

[E.] D. "foreign jurisdiction" means any jurisdiction other than a state of the United States or the District of Columbia;

[F.] E. "foreign vehicle" means every vehicle of a type required to be registered under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code brought into this state from another state, territory or country; and

[G.] F. "freight trailer" means any trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer drawn by a truck tractor or road tractor, and any trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer drawn by a truck that has a gross vehicle weight of more than twenty-six thousand pounds, but "freight trailer" does not include manufactured homes, trailers of less than one-ton carrying capacity used to transport animals or fertilizer trailers of less than three thousand five hundred pounds empty weight."

Section 2. Section 66-1-4.11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990, Chapter 120, Section 12, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.11. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle Code:

A. "mail" means any item properly addressed with postage prepaid delivered by the United States postal service or any other public or private enterprise primarily engaged in the transport and delivery of letters, packages and other parcels;

B. "manufactured home" means a movable or portable housing structure that exceeds either a width of eight feet or a length of forty feet, constructed to be towed on its own chassis and designed to be installed with or without a permanent foundation for human occupancy;

C. "manufacturer" means every person engaged in the business of constructing or assembling vehicles of a type required to be registered under the Motor Vehicle Code;

D. "manufacturer's certificate of origin" means a certification, on a form supplied by or approved by the department, signed by the manufacturer that the new vehicle described therein has been transferred to the New Mexico dealer or distributor named therein or to a dealer duly licensed or recognized as such in another state, territory or possession of the United States and that such transfer is the first transfer of the vehicle in ordinary trade and commerce. Every such certificate shall contain space for proper reassignment to a New Mexico dealer or to a dealer duly licensed or recognized as such in another state, territory or possession of the United States, and the certificate shall contain a description of the vehicle, the number of cylinders, type of body, engine number and the serial number or other standard identification number provided by the manufacturer of the vehicle;

E. "metal tire" means every tire of which the surface in contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal or other hard nonresilient material, except that a snow tire with metal studs designed to increase traction on ice or snow is not considered a metal tire;

F. "moped" means a two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicle with an automatic transmission and a motor having a piston displacement of less than fifty cubic centimeters, that is capable of propelling the vehicle at a maximum speed of not more than thirty miles an hour on level ground, at sea level;

G. "motorcycle" means every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, excluding a tractor;

H. "motor home" means a camping body built on a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis so designed that seating for driver and passengers is within the body itself;

I. "motor vehicle" means every vehicle that is self-propelled and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from batteries or from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails [but for the purposes of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act, "motor vehicle" does not include "special mobile equipment"]; and

J. "motor vehicle insurance policy" means a policy of vehicle insurance that covers self-propelled vehicles of a kind required to be registered pursuant to New Mexico law for use on the public streets and highways. A "motor vehicle insurance policy":

(1) shall include:

(a) motor vehicle bodily injury and property damage liability coverages [in compliance with the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act]; and

(b) uninsured motorist coverage, subject to the provisions of Section 66-5-301 NMSA 1978 permitting the insured to reject such coverage; and

(2) may include:

(a) physical damage coverage;

(b) medical payments coverage; and

(c) other coverages that the insured and the insurer agree to include within the policy."

Section 3. Section 66-5-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 233) is amended to read:

"66-5-11. APPLICATION OF MINORS.--

A. The application of any person under the age of eighteen years for an instruction permit or driver's license shall be signed and verified by the father, mother or guardian or, in the event there is no parent or guardian, [then] by another responsible adult who is willing to assume the obligation imposed under this article upon a person signing the application of a minor.

B. Any negligence or willful misconduct of a minor under the age of eighteen years when driving a motor vehicle upon a highway shall be imputed to the person who has signed the application of [such] the minor for a permit or license, which person shall be jointly and severally liable with [such] the minor for any damages caused by [such] the negligence or willful misconduct [except as otherwise provided in Subsection C of this section.

C. In the event a minor deposits or there is deposited upon his behalf proof of financial responsibility in respect to the operation of a motor vehicle owned by him or, if not the owner of a motor vehicle, then with respect to the operation of any motor vehicle, in form and in amounts as required under the motor vehicle financial responsibility laws of this state, then the division may accept the application of such minor when signed by one parent or the guardian of such minor, and, while such proof is maintained, such parent or guardian shall not be subject to the liability imposed under Subsection B of this section]."

Section 4. Section 66-5-35 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 257, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-5-35. LIMITED DRIVING PRIVILEGE UPON SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION--HEARING--REVIEW.--

A. Upon suspension or revocation of license following conviction or adjudication as a delinquent under any law, ordinance or regulation relating to motor vehicles, a person may apply to the director for a license or permit to drive, limited to use allowing him to engage in gainful employment, except that no person shall be eligible to apply for a limited license when the person's license was revoked or suspended pursuant to:

(1) the provisions of the Implied Consent Act, except as provided in Subsection B of this section; or

(2) an offense for which the person is a subsequent offender as defined in the Motor Vehicle Code.

B. A person who has had his license revoked for the first time pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) or (2) of Subsection C of Section 66-8-111 NMSA 1978 may apply for and shall receive a limited license or permit thirty days after suspension or revocation of his license if the person provides the director with documentation of the following:

(1) that the person is enrolled in an approved DWI school and an approved alcohol screening program;

[(2) proof of financial responsibility pursuant to the provisions of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act] and either

[(3)] (2) proof of gainful employment or gainful self-employment and that the person needs a limited license to travel to and from his place of employment; or

[(4)] (3) that the person is enrolled in school and needs a limited license to travel to and from school.

C. Upon receipt of the application, proof of financial responsibility for the future and a hearing as provided in Subsection D of this section, the director shall issue a limited license or permit to the applicant showing the limitations specified in the approved application, provided that the applicant meets established uniform criteria for limited driving privileges adopted by regulation of the department. For each limited license or permit to drive, the applicant shall pay to the division a fee of forty-five dollars ($45.00), which shall be transferred to the state highway and transportation department. All money collected under this subsection shall be used for DWI prevention and education programs for elementary and secondary school students. The state highway and transportation department shall coordinate with the department of health to ensure that there is no program duplication. The limited license or permit to drive may be suspended as provided in Section

66-5-30 NMSA 1978.

D. The director, within twenty days of receipt of an application for a limited driver's license or permit pursuant to this section, shall afford the applicant a hearing in the county in which the applicant resides, unless the division and the licensee agree that the hearing may be held in some other county. The director may, in his discretion, extend the twenty-day period, provided that the extension is in writing and made no later than fifteen days after receipt of an application. Upon hearing, the director or his duly authorized hearing officer may administer oaths and may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant books and papers. The director shall make specific findings as to whether the applicant has shown proof of financial responsibility for the future and meets established uniform criteria for limited driving privileges adopted by regulation of the department. The director shall enter an order either approving or denying the applicant's request for a limited license or permit to drive. If any of the specific findings set forth in this subsection are not found by the director, the applicant's request for a limited license or permit shall not be approved.

E. A person adversely affected by an order of the director may seek review within thirty days in the district court in the county in which he resides. The district court, upon thirty days' written notice to the director, shall hear the case. On review, it is for the court to determine only whether the applicant met the requirements in this section for issuance of a limited license or permit to drive."

Section 5. REPEAL.--Sections 66-5-201 through 66-5-239 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 277, Laws 1983, Chapter 318, Section 2, Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 279, Laws 1983, Chapter 318, Sections 5 and 6, Laws 1989, Chapter 214, Section 1, Laws 1983, Chapter 318, Sections 7 and 8, Laws 1986, Chapter 111, Section 2, Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Sections 282 and 283, Laws 1971, Chapter 59, Section 2, Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Sections 289, 290 and 294, Laws 1955, Chapter 182, Section 315, Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Sections 298 through 300 and 302, Laws 1955, Chapter 182, Section 323, Laws 1977, Chapter 61, Section 2, Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Sections 309 and 310, Laws 1955, Chapter 182, Section 330, Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Sections 314, 316, 318, 320 and 321, Laws 1983, Chapter 318, Sections 31 through 35, Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Sections 323 and 324 and Laws 1983, Chapter 318, Section 38, as amended) are repealed.

Section 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 1999.