46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

RELATING TO PUBLIC NUISANCES; IMPOSING A CIVIL FINE FOR EXCESSIVE NOISE; ENACTING A NEW SECTION OF CHAPTER 30, ARTICLE 8 NMSA 1978.

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

Section 1. A new section of Chapter 30, Article 8 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] PUBLIC NUISANCE--EXCESSIVE NOISE--CIVIL FINE.--

A. A person who plays or permits to be played a radio, tape recorder, cassette player, compact disc player, television or any other device for reproducing sound, if it is located in or on residential property, whether a unit of a multiple-family dwelling or a single-family dwelling, shall control the volume of the amplified sound so that it is not audible in an adjacent dwelling.

B. A law enforcement officer does not have to hear the excessive noise himself in order to issue a notice of warning or a citation pursuant to this section.

C. Upon a violation of the provisions of Subsection A of this section, a law enforcement officer shall:

(1) for a first violation, issue to a resident of the dwelling a notice of warning that states that excessive noise is a public nuisance and that subsequent violations will result in a civil fine;

(2) for a second violation, issue a citation for a civil fine in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100); and

(3) for a third or subsequent violation, issue a citation for a civil fine in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars ($250)."

Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2003.