SENATE MEMORIAL 41

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Steve Komadina

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE TAXATION AND REVENUE DEPARTMENT TO COLLABORATE ON A MEANS TO ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM PERMITTING CERTAIN DRIVERS TO EXCEED ESTABLISHED SPEED LIMITS.

     WHEREAS, reports of drivers who exceed established speed limits on New Mexico highways continue unabated; and

     WHEREAS, the wide open spaces of the west make exceeding the speed limit in some cases less dangerous than in some other areas of the country; and  

     WHEREAS, even some urban areas may have posted speed limits that may be unnecessarily low; and

     WHEREAS, the state can use revenues earned from certain speed-limit-related penalties for worthy projects; and

     WHEREAS, state income amassed from sales of a "you've got a ticket to speed" could be significant; and

     WHEREAS, revenues from sales of a "you've got a ticket to speed" may be devoted to salary raises for state police;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of public safety be requested to convene a meeting that includes the secretary of transportation and the secretary of taxation and revenue to study the possibility of creating a "you've got a ticket to speed" program by which drivers can purchase a permit to exceed the established speed limit; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretaries be requested to consider the pragmatic steps required to implement such a program, including whether drivers with a ticket to speed would require a license plate decal or other means of signaling law enforcement, whether the ticket to speed is limited to rural areas or also includes municipalities and whether the ticket to speed is better sold in one sum or in three, five mile-per-hour increments, up to fifteen miles per hour over the posted speed limit; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretaries be requested to jointly report to the interim legislative health and human services committee before its October 2006 meeting; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretaries of public safety, transportation and taxation and revenue.