Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they are used for other purposes.

 

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are available on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).  Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not.  Previously issued FIRs and attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

 

 

F I S C A L    I M P A C T    R E P O R T

 

 

 

SPONSOR

Vigil

DATE TYPED

2-5-04

HB

168

 

SHORT TITLE

Maximum Driving and On-Duty Time Violations

SB

 

 

 

ANALYST

Reynolds-Forte

 

REVENUE

 

Estimated Revenue

Subsequent

Years Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY04

FY05

 

 

 

 

Minimal

 

Recurring

General Fund

 

 

 

 

 

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

 

Responses Received From

Taxation and Revenue Department

Public Safety Department

Public Defender

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis of Bill

 

House Bill 168 modifies penalties for violating sections of the Motor Vehicle Code pertaining to exceeding the current 10 and 15-hour driving rules and adds new offenses with penalties for exceeding 11 and 15 hour driving rules. The bill also adds new offenses with penalties for not having a log book and for not having a record for the previous seven days

 

House Bill 168 does not have a specified effective date.

 

      Significant Issues

 

The Department of Public Safety points out that in April of 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued significant revisions to the HOS (Hours of Service) regulations.  This affects 49 CFR Part 395.3 – Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles and 49 CFR Part 395.5 – Maximum driving time for passenger-carrying vehicles.  These regulations went into effect on January 4th, 2004 and have been adopted by the State of New Mexico in 18.2.3 NMAC that will go into effect on January 30th, 2004.  House Bill 168 will put the State of New Mexico in compliance with the federal law.

 

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

 

House Bill 168 adds new offenses with penalties to the Motor Carrier Act.  The Taxation and Revenue Department estimates that these changes will have no significant fiscal impact.

 

TECHNICAL ISSUES

 

The Taxation and Revenue Department suggests that it might be appropriate to clarify the phrase: “No record for previous 7 days” on page 6 of the proposal. An alternative wording might be something similar to: “No logbook containing records documenting activities during the previous 7 days”.

 

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

 

The Taxation and Revenue Department notes that this legislation is in compliance with new federal rulings issued Jan 4, 2004. The new federal rulings change the amount of time drivers are allowed to drive. They also reduce the number of hours passenger drivers are allowed to drive.

 

 

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