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SPONSOR: |
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DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Allow Governor to Order Evacuations |
SB |
364 |
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ANALYST: |
Fox-Young |
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APPROPRIATION
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Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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Unknown |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates HB 253
Relates
to HB 231, HB 232, HB 254 and SB 194
Responses
Received From
Department
of Public Safety (DPS)
Department
of Military Affairs (DMA)
Association
of District Attorneys (AODA)
Administrative
Office of the Courts (AOC)
Attorney
General (AG)
Department
of Health (DOH)
State
Highway and Transportation Department (SHTD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
Senate Bill 364 amends
Section 30-20-6, expanding the list of restrictions the governor may proclaim
during a state of emergency. The bill
adds the following language to the Act:
“The governor may, by proclamation, prohibit all or part of the population from remaining in any designated area within the state if the governor deems such action necessary for the preservation of life or necessary to aid an emergency response, recovery or mitigation.”
“In order to facilitate an evacuation, the governor may prescribe travel routes, transportation modes and assigned destinations and may provide for the availability and use of temporary, emergency housing for evacuees.”
The bill also makes
technical adjustments to existing language.
Significant
Issues
DPS notes that the New Mexico Riot Control Act
provides that, upon the request of a political subdivision of the state, the
governor may make an emergency declaration.
The Department of Military Affairs (DMA) notes
that the New Mexico Constitution endows the governor with the power to take any
necessary action to protect the public health, safety and welfare. N.M. Constitution Art.
V Section 4 reads as follows:
“The supreme executive power of the
state shall be vested in the governor, who shall take care that the laws be
faithfully executed. He shall be commander in chief of the military forces of
the state, except when they are called into the service of the
Department
of Public Safety (DPS), Department of Health (DOH) and AG note that there is currently
no statutory authority to allow local, county or state government the specific
ability to evacuate citizens from a natural or man-made disaster. DOH indicates
that the proposed language is based on that of evacuation statutes from the
southeastern part of the country, where hurricanes are prevalent.
The bill was endorsed by three interim legislative committees: the Corrections Oversight and Justice Committee, the Information Technology and Oversight Committee, and the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee.
Section
30-20-8 of the Riot Control Act provides that any person
who, during a state of emergency, fails to comply with restrictions imposed by
proclamation of the governor is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction of
a second or subsequent offense under this section, is guilty of a fourth degree
felony.
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) notes that, depending
upon whether the Act generates or avoids a significant amount of litigation,
there may be fiscal implications for the judiciary.
RELATIONSHIP
Relates
to HB 231, HB 232, HB 254 and SB 194