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| SPONSOR: | Griego | DATE TYPED: | 03/05/01 | HB | |||
| SHORT TITLE: | Retired Firefighters's Special License Plate | SB | 771 | ||||
| ANALYST: | Gonzales | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY01 | FY02 | FY01 | FY02 | ||
| Recurring | State Road Fund ($9.98 per plate) | ||||
| Recurring | Counties ($3.01 per plate) | ||||
| Recurring | Municipalities ($0.80 per plate) | ||||
| Recurring | City and Municipal ($1.21 per plate) | ||||
| Recurring | Motor Vehicle Division (10.00 per plate) | ||||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 771 allows the Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD) to issue a special registration plate to retired firefighters upon satisfactory proof that he has retired from active employment as a firefighter. This bill also allows the TRD Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department to approve the final plate design for this purpose. Special firefighter plates must be returned when a firefighter holding a special plate retires from his position as firefighter and shall be issued a retired firefighter plate on request and payment of the fee required.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
A one-time $25.00 fees is charged for the issuance of these special registration plates of which $10.00 is to be retained by the department with the remaining amount distributed along with other types of motor vehicle fees (See Section 66-6-23 and 66-6-23.1 NMSA 2978.)
The TRD reports it does not have information of the number of retired professional New Mexico firefighters. It is anticipated the revenue gains from issuing new plates with the associated one-time fee would not result in a noticeable fiscal impact on the State Road Fund or local governments.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
No substantial impact on the department is expected.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
TRD reports:
There is no transition provision for retired New Mexico firefighters who retained their special plate upon retirement in the past. On the effective date of this bill, they would technically be required to turn-in their old plate and be issued a new retired firefighter" plate. The Motor Vehicle Division does not intend to strictly enforce this issue, and would allow new plates to be issued over the course of the normal re-registration cycle. It is also possible the new plates would not yet be available on the effective date of the bill.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
According to TRD, issuing special registration plates for various status firefighters may prove beneficial by providing a means of vehicle identification at a fire scene for traffic control measures. It is probably appropriate to distinguish between active employed firefighters, volunteer firefighters and (if they are allowed to keep a special plate) retired (professional) firefighters.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
Is the bill intended to cover "retired" fighters?
Laws 1998, Chapter 21 (1998 HB-90) enacted a new section of the Motor Vehicle Code which provides special registration plates for any person "employed" as a New Mexico firefighter. Laws 200, Chapter 70 revised the law to include "an active volunteer firefighter". The "volunteer" plate is distinctly different from the "New Mexico firefighter" plate.
JMG/ar