HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 1000

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

AN ACT

RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY; REQUIRING LIEN CLAIMANTS TO NOTIFY PROPERTY OWNERS OF CLAIM OF LIEN FILINGS.

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

     Section 1. Section 48-2-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1880, Chapter 16, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

     "48-2-6. TIME FOR FILING LIEN CLAIM--CONTENTS.--Every original contractor, within one hundred [and] twenty days after the completion of [his] a contract, and every person, except the original contractor, desiring to claim a lien pursuant to Sections 48-2-1 through [48-2-19] 48-2-17 NMSA 1978, [must] shall, within ninety days after the completion of any building, improvement or structure or after the completion of the alteration or repair [thereof] of them or the performance of any labor in a mining claim, file for record with the county clerk of the county in which [such] the property or some part [thereof] of it is situated, a claim containing a statement of [his] demands, after deducting all just credits and offsets. The claim shall state the name of the owner or reputed owner [if known] and [also] the name of the person by whom [he] the contractor was employed or to whom [he] the materialman furnished the materials, and shall include a statement of the terms, time given and the conditions of the contract, and also a description of the property to be charged with the lien, sufficient for identification. Pursuant to the requirements of Section 48-2-6.1 NMSA 1978, the claim shall also contain a statement that a copy of the claim of lien has been personally served upon or mailed via priority mail with delivery confirmation to the owner or reputed owner of the property at the owner's last known address. The claim [must] shall be verified by the oath of [himself] the claimant or of some other person."

     Section 2. A new Section 48-2-6.1 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "48-2-6.1. [NEW MATERIAL] NOTICE OF CLAIM OF LIEN REQUIRED.--Every person desiring to claim a lien pursuant to Sections 48-2-1 through 48-2-17 NMSA 1978 shall, prior to filing a claim of lien with the county clerk of the county in which the property or some part of it is situated, personally serve upon the owner or reputed owner of the property or mail via priority mail with delivery confirmation to the owner or reputed owner of the property at the owner's last known address a copy of the claim of lien and the statement required pursuant to Section 48-2-6 NMSA 1978."

     Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is January 1, 2006.

- 3 -