SENATE BILL 1068
47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005
INTRODUCED BY
John Arthur Smith
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY; ESTABLISHING REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS FOR THE SAFETY OF CONVENIENCE STORE PERSONNEL.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Reasonable Precautions for Convenience Stores Act".
Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Reasonable Precautions for Convenience Stores Act:
A. "American society for testing materials standard D3935" means the American society for testing materials classification standards for transparent polycarbonate bullet-resistant materials;
B. "B rated" means a safe box industry standard that, at a minimum, conforms to the specifics of a one-fourth inch body and a one-half inch door constructed of steel or an equivalent material;
C. "convenience goods" means articles that are purchased frequently for immediate use in readily accessible stores and with a minimum of effort. "Convenience goods" includes consumable items that are generally limited in quantity and variety and sold in their original containers. "Convenience goods" is not intended to exclude convenience stores that sell a small quantity of fresh food or unpackaged products in addition to other convenience goods;
D. "convenience store" means a business that is primarily engaged in the retail sale of convenience goods, or both convenience goods and gasoline, and employs one or more employees during the normal operating hours of the establishment. "Convenience store" excludes businesses that operate as hotels, taverns, lodging facilities, restaurants, stores that sell prescription drugs, gasoline service stations, grocery stores, supermarkets, businesses that have more than ten thousand square feet of retail floor space, farmers' markets, roadside stands, on-site farm markets and other agricultural activities or operations;
E. "department" means the department of environment;
F. "depository or time lock safe" means a B rated or higher-rated safe box equipped with an electronic or manually programmed time lock or drop slot that prevents unauthorized access;
G. "employer" means the owner or operator of a convenience store;
H. "pass-through window" means a manually operated mechanical pass-through trough, front-loading deposit door or other similar device that is encased in a transparent polycarbonate window or other bullet-resistant material that meets American society for testing materials standard D3935 or underwriters laboratory standard 752;
I. "secretary" means the secretary of environment;
J. "security alarm system" means:
(1) a device or series of devices, including a single interconnected system of cellular or private radio signals, used to notify law enforcement or a private security agency of an unlawful act in progress; or
(2) a security surveillance system with in-house, twenty-four-hour employer-staffed central monitoring capacity away from a convenience store and with the ability to notify law enforcement or a private security agency of an unlawful act in progress;
K. "security surveillance system" means a video or digital camera surveillance system that is capable of recording and retrieving a clear video or digital recorded image;
L. "service counter" means, at a minimum, the counter space designated by the employer to include the service transaction area of the money register and the surrounding perimeter; and
M. "underwriters laboratory standard 752" means the underwriters laboratory standards for transparent polycarbonate bullet-resistant materials.
Section 3. EMPLOYEE CRIME PREVENTION AND SAFETY TRAINING REQUIRED.--
A. An employer shall provide employees at the time of initial hire, and within four-month intervals thereafter, crime prevention and safety training in accordance with a written training curriculum that shall include:
(1) discussion of problems related to the specific site;
(2) an overview of the potential risk of assault;
(3) operational procedures, such as cash-handling rules, that are designed to reduce risk;
(4) proper use of security measures and engineering controls that have been adopted in the workplace;
(5) behavioral strategies, including conflict resolution and aggression management techniques, to defuse tense situations and reduce the likelihood of violence;
(6) specific instructions on how to respond to a robbery and how to respond to attempted shoplifting; and
(7) emergency action procedures to be followed in the event of a robbery or violent incident.
B. Training shall be conducted in a language that is understood by the employee and approved by the employer.
C. Store-specific training shall be conducted by an employee's immediate supervisor.
D. Current employees shall receive training within ninety days of the effective date of the Reasonable Precautions for Convenience Stores Act.
E. The training shall be documented for each employee. The documentation shall include a signed statement indicating the date, time and place safety training was received and shall be kept for a period of at least twelve months, or six months after an employee is terminated.
Section 4. LATE NIGHT SECURITY REQUIRED.--A convenience store operating between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. shall protect employees during those hours by keeping no more than fifty dollars ($50.00) in any cash register in that time period and by:
A. taking staffing precautions, including:
(1) staffing the store with at least two employees per shift;
(2) hiring on-premises security personnel;
(3) controlling access to the employee by means of a secured safety enclosure of transparent polycabonate or other bullet-resistant material that meets American society for testing materials standard D3935 or underwriters laboratory standard 752;
(4) providing a pass-through window of transparent polycarbonate or other bullet-resistant material that meets American society for testing materials standard D3935 or underwriters laboratory standard 752 that restricts access to and encompasses the service counter area, and provides an enclosure that extends not less than five feet above the service counter; or
(5) upon closing the store, conspicuously posting signs stating that the store is closed and prohibiting all sales transactions while allowing employees to perform duties such as store stocking, maintenance, cleaning and other non-sales transaction duties; and
B. taking lighting precautions, including providing and maintaining exterior lighting that ensures clear visibility of the parking areas, walkways, building entrances and exits, pay telephones and gasoline pump areas during all evening operating hours; or
C. applying for an exemption from late-night security measures after providing verification from an appropriate law enforcement agency that the convenience store has not experienced within the past two years of the request for exemption a murder, robbery, sexual battery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping or false imprisonment as defined by the Criminal Code.
Section 5. LIMITS ON SIGNS--POSTING A NOTICE REQUIRED.--
A. An employer shall maintain door and window signs so that a clear and unobstructed view of the service counter and cash register exists from outside the building.
B. An employer shall provide an unobstructed view throughout the store from the service counter area. This may be accomplished by different means, including mirrors and video monitors.
C. An employer shall conspicuously post a notice in English and in Spanish stating that there is:
(1) a safe in the store;
(2) an active security alarm system in the store;
(3) an active security surveillance system in the store;
(4) a limited amount of cash in the cash register; and
(5) no employee ability to access the contents of the safe.
Section 6. SECURITY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM REQUIRED.--
A. A convenience store shall have a fully operational security surveillance system that records a continuous unobstructed view of the service counter area and all entryways and exits during all operating hours and that includes a high resolution black and white or color screen monitor with on-screen date and time capabilities available on playback.
B. The employer shall conduct a monthly maintenance inspection of the security surveillance system, make necessary maintenance inspections and repairs to ensure full-time proper operation of the security surveillance system and, in the event of a mechanical malfunction that exceeds a seventy-two hour period, provide alternative security that may include closure of the premises.
C. The employer shall maintain a video or digital library of all in-store transactions recorded by the security surveillance system during normal operating hours of the convenience store for a period of no less than twenty business days.
Section 7. SECURITY ALARM SYSTEM REQUIRED.--The employer shall:
A. provide, maintain and document in each convenience store a fully operational security alarm system with a working, portable, accessible personal panic alarm for each on-duty employee that, when activated, notifies law enforcement, a private security agency or an employer's in-house central monitoring system when an unlawful act is in progress; and
B. conduct monthly maintenance inspections and make all necessary repairs to ensure the proper operation of the security alarm system and, in the event of an extended mechanical malfunction that exceeds an eight-hour period, provide alternative security that may include closure of the premises.
Section 8. DEPOSITORY OR TIME-LOCK SAFE REQUIRED.--
A. An employer shall provide:
(1) at least one B rated or higher-rated depository or time lock safe in each store to ensure controlled access to cash; and
(2) monthly maintenance inspection and necessary repairs to ensure the full-time proper operation of the depository or time-lock safe system so that, in the event of an extended mechanical malfunction of the depository or time-lock safe system that exceeds an eight-hour period, alternative security that may include closure of the premises or inspection and maintenance of an in-store central monitoring system is provided.
B. The location of a depository or time-lock safe may be determined by the employer but shall be located within the service counter area, or in an office adjacent to the service counter area.
Section 9. DOCUMENTATION OF SECURITY MEASURES REQUIRED.--
A. An employer shall maintain for a period of at least twenty-four months all employee training, inspections, servicing, alterations and upgrades performed on required security surveillance systems, security alarm systems and depository or time-lock safe systems; and
B. make available documentation of its employee training, on maintenance, inspection and repairs on required security surveillance systems, security alarms systems and depository or time-lock safe equipment within one hundred twenty days, not including weekends and holidays, of a department request.
Section 10. PENALTIES.--Failure to make documentation available on request of the department within one hundred twenty days shall subject the employer to the penalties provided in Section 50-9-24 NMSA 1978.
- 10 -