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AN ACT

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF

THE MOTOR VEHICLE CODE; REQUIRING BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS

FOR CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION EMPLOYEES; RECONCILING

MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION OF LAW IN LAWS 2005;

PROVIDING PENALTIES; REPEALING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

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

Section 1. Section 7-14-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988,

Chapter 73, Section 16, as amended) is amended to read:

"7-14-6. EXEMPTIONS FROM TAX.--

A. A person who acquires a vehicle out of state

thirty or more days before establishing a domicile in this

state is exempt from the tax if the vehicle was acquired for

personal use.

B. A person applying for a certificate of title

for a vehicle registered in another state is exempt from the

tax if the person has previously registered and titled the

vehicle in New Mexico and has owned the vehicle continuously

since that time.

C. A vehicle with a certificate of title owned by

this state or any political subdivision is exempt from the

tax.

D. A person is exempt from the tax if the person

has a disability at the time the person purchases a vehicle

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and can prove to the motor vehicle division of the department

or its agent that modifications have been made to the vehicle

that are:

(1) due to that person's disability; and

(2) necessary to enable that person to drive

that vehicle or be transported in that vehicle.

E. A person is exempt from the tax if the person

is a bona fide resident of New Mexico who served in the armed

forces of the United States and who suffered, while serving

in the armed forces or from a service-connected cause, the

loss or complete and total loss of use of:

(1) one or both legs at or above the ankle;

(2) one or both arms at or above the wrist.

F. A person who acquires a vehicle for subsequent

lease shall be exempt from the tax if:

(1) the person does not use the vehicle in

any manner other than holding it for lease or sale or leasing

or selling it in the ordinary course of business;

(2) the lease is for a term of more than six

months;

(3) the receipts from the subsequent lease

are subject to the gross receipts tax; and

(4) the vehicle does not have a gross

vehicle weight of over twenty-six thousand pounds.

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G. From July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2009,

vehicles that are gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles with a

United States environmental protection agency fuel economy

rating of at least twenty-seven and one-half miles per gallon

are eligible for a one-time exemption from the tax at the

time of the issuance of the original certificate of title for

the vehicle."

Section 2. Section 66-1-4.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990,

Chapter 120, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.1. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

A. "abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle or motor

vehicle that has been determined by a New Mexico law

enforcement agency:

(1) to have been left unattended on either

public or private property for at least thirty days;

(2) not to have been reported stolen;

(3) not to have been claimed by any person

asserting ownership; and

(4) not to have been shown by normal

record-checking procedures to be owned by any person;

B. "access aisle" means a space designed to allow

a person with a significant mobility limitation to safely

exit and enter a motor vehicle that is immediately adjacent

to a designated parking space for persons with significant

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mobility limitation and that may be common to two such

parking spaces of at least sixty inches in width or, if the

parking space is designed for van accessibility, ninety-six

inches in width, and clearly marked with blue striping;

C. "actual empty weight" means the weight of a

vehicle without a load;

D. "additional place of business", for dealers and

auto recyclers, means locations in addition to an established

place of business as defined in Section 66-1-4.5 NMSA 1978

and meeting all the requirements of an established place of

business, except Paragraph (5) of Subsection C of Section

66-1-4.5 NMSA 1978, but "additional place of business" does

not mean a location used solely for storage and that is not

used for wrecking, dismantling, sale or resale of vehicles;

E. "alcoholic beverages" means any and all

distilled or rectified spirits, potable alcohol, brandy,

whiskey, rum, gin, aromatic bitters or any similar alcoholic

beverage, including all blended or fermented beverages,

dilutions or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing

containing more than one-half percent alcohol but excluding

medicinal bitters;

F. "authorized emergency vehicle" means any fire

department vehicle, police vehicle, ambulance and any

emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public

utilities that are designated or authorized as emergency

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vehicles by the director of the New Mexico state police

division of the department of public safety or local

authorities; and

G. "auto recycler" means a person engaged in this

state in an established business that includes acquiring

vehicles that are required to be registered under the Motor

Vehicle Code for the purpose of dismantling, wrecking,

shredding, compacting, crushing or otherwise destroying

vehicles for reclaimable parts or scrap material to sell."

Section 3. Section 66-1-4.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990,

Chapter 120, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.4. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

A. "day" means calendar day, unless otherwise

provided in the Motor Vehicle Code;

B. "dealer", except as specifically excluded,

means any person who sells or solicits or advertises the sale

of new or used motor vehicles, manufactured homes or trailers

subject to registration in this state; "dealer" does not

include:

(1) receivers, trustees, administrators,

executors, guardians or other persons appointed by or acting

under judgment, decree or order of any court;

(2) public officers while performing their

duties as such officers;

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(3) persons making casual sales of their own

vehicles;

(4) finance companies, banks and other

lending institutions making sales of repossessed vehicles; or

(5) licensed brokers under the Manufactured

Housing Act who, for a fee, commission or other valuable

consideration, engage in brokerage activities related to the

sale, exchange or lease purchase of pre-owned manufactured

homes on a site installed for a consumer;

C. "declared gross weight" means the maximum gross

vehicle weight or gross combination vehicle weight at which a

vehicle or combination will be operated during the

registration period, as declared by the registrant for

registration and fee purposes; the vehicle or combination

shall have only one declared gross weight for all operating

considerations;

D. "department" means the taxation and revenue

department, the secretary of taxation and revenue or any

employee of the department exercising authority lawfully

delegated to that employee by the secretary;

E. "designated accessible parking space for

persons with significant mobility limitation" means any

space, including an access aisle, that is marked and reserved

for the parking of a passenger vehicle that carries

registration plates or a parking placard with the

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international symbol of access issued in accordance with

Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 and that is designated by a

conspicuously posted sign bearing the international symbol of

access and, if the parking space is paved, by a clearly

visible depiction of this symbol painted in blue on the

pavement of the space;

F. "director" means the secretary;

G. "disqualification" means a prohibition against

driving a commercial motor vehicle;

H. "distinguishing number" means the number

assigned by the department to a vehicle whose identifying

number has been destroyed or obliterated or the number

assigned by the department to a vehicle that has never had an

identifying number;

I. "distributor" means a person who distributes or

sells new or used motor vehicles to dealers and who is not a

manufacturer;

J. "division", without further specification,

"division of motor vehicles" or "motor vehicle division"

means the department;

K. "driver" means every person who drives or is in

actual physical control of a motor vehicle, including a

motorcycle, upon a highway, who is exercising control over or

steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle or who

operates or is in actual physical control of an off-highway

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motor vehicle;

L. "driver's license" means a license or a class

of license issued by a state or other jurisdiction to an

individual that authorizes the individual to drive a motor

vehicle; and

M. "driveaway-towaway operation" means an

operation in which any motor vehicle, new or used, is the

item being transported when one set or more of wheels of any

such motor vehicle is on the roadway during the course of

transportation, whether or not the motor vehicle furnishes

the motive power."

Section 4. Section 66-1-4.5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990,

Chapter 120, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.5. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

A. "electric personal assistive mobility device"

means a self-balancing device having two nontandem wheels

designed to transport a single person by means of an electric

propulsion system with an average power of one horsepower and

with a maximum speed on a paved level surface of less than

twenty miles per hour when powered solely by its propulsion

system and while being ridden by an operator who weighs one

hundred seventy pounds;

B. "essential parts" means all integral and body

parts of a vehicle of a type required to be registered by the

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provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code, the removal, alteration

or substitution of which would tend to conceal the identity

of the vehicle or substantially alter its appearance, model,

type or mode of operation;

C. "established place of business", for a dealer

or auto recycler, means a place:

(1) devoted exclusively to the business for

which the dealer or auto recycler is licensed and related

business;

(2) identified by a prominently displayed

sign giving the dealer's or auto recycler's trade name used

by the business;

(3) of sufficient size or space to permit

the display of one or more vehicles or to permit the parking

or storing of vehicles to be dismantled or wrecked for

recycling;

(4) on which there is located an enclosed

building on a permanent foundation, which building meets the

building requirements of the community and is large enough to

accommodate the office or offices of the dealer or auto

recycler and large enough to provide a safe place to keep the

books and records of the dealer or auto recycler;

(5) where the principal portion of the

business of the dealer or auto recycler is conducted and

where the books and records of the business are kept and

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maintained; and

(6) where vehicle sales are of new vehicles

only, such as a department store or a franchisee of a

department store, as long as the department store or

franchisee keeps the books and records of its vehicle

business in a general office location at its place of

business; as used in this paragraph, "department store" means

a business that offers a variety of merchandise other than

vehicles, and sales of the merchandise other than vehicles

constitute at least eighty percent of the gross sales of the

business; and

D. "explosives" means any chemical compound or

mechanical mixture that is commonly used or intended for the

purpose of producing an explosion and that contains any

oxidizing and combustive units or other ingredients in such

proportions, quantities or packing that an ignition by fire,

friction, concussion, percussion or detonator of any part of

the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden generation of

highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are

capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous

objects or of destroying life or limb."

Section 5. Section 66-1-4.7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990,

Chapter 120, Section 8) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.7. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

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A. "gross combination vehicle weight" means the

total of the gross vehicle weights of all units of a

combination;

B. "gross combination weight rating" means the

value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a

combination; however, in the absence of a value specified by

the manufacturer, the gross combination weight rating shall

be determined by adding the gross vehicle weight rating of

the power unit and the total weight of the towed unit or

units and the load on those units;

C. "gross factory shipping weight" means the

weight indicated on the manufacturer's certificate of origin;

D. "gross vehicle weight" means the weight of a

loaded vehicle; and

E. "gross vehicle weight rating" means the value

specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a

single vehicle."

Section 6. Section 66-1-4.11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1990, Chapter 120, Section 12, as amended) is amended to

read:

"66-1-4.11. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

A. "mail" means any item properly addressed with

postage prepaid delivered by the United States postal service

or any other public or private enterprise primarily engaged

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in the transport and delivery of letters, packages and other

parcels;

B. "manufactured home" means a movable or portable

housing structure that exceeds either a width of eight feet

or a length of forty feet, constructed to be towed on its own

chassis and designed to be installed with or without a

permanent foundation for human occupancy;

C. "manufacturer" means every person engaged in

the business of constructing or assembling vehicles of a type

required to be registered under the Motor Vehicle Code;

D. "manufacturer's certificate of origin" means a

certification, on a form supplied by or approved by the

department, signed by the manufacturer that the new vehicle

or boat described in the certificate has been transferred to

the New Mexico dealer or distributor named in the certificate

or to a dealer duly licensed or recognized as such in another

state, territory or possession of the United States and that

such transfer is the first transfer of the vehicle or boat in

ordinary trade and commerce;

E. "moped" means a two-wheeled or three-wheeled

vehicle with an automatic transmission and a motor having a

piston displacement of less than fifty cubic centimeters,

that is capable of propelling the vehicle at a maximum speed

of not more than thirty miles an hour on level ground, at sea

level;

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F. "motorcycle" means every motor vehicle having a

seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to

travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the

ground, excluding a tractor;

G. "motor home" means a camping body built on a

self-propelled motor vehicle chassis so designed that seating

for driver and passengers is within the body itself;

H. "motor vehicle" means every vehicle that is

self-propelled and every vehicle that is propelled by

electric power obtained from batteries or from overhead

trolley wires, but not operated upon rails; but for the

purposes of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act,

"motor vehicle" does not include "special mobile equipment";

and

I. "motor vehicle insurance policy" means a policy

of vehicle insurance that covers self-propelled vehicles of a

kind required to be registered pursuant to New Mexico law for

use on the public streets and highways. A "motor vehicle

insurance policy":

(1) shall include:

(a) motor vehicle bodily injury and

property damage liability coverages in compliance with the

Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act; and

(b) uninsured motorist coverage,

subject to the provisions of Section 66-5-301 NMSA 1978

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permitting the insured to reject such coverage; and

(2) may include:

(a) physical damage coverage;

(b) medical payments coverage; and

and the insurer agree to include within the policy."

Section 7. Section 66-1-4.12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1990, Chapter 120, Section 13, as amended) is amended to

read:

"66-1-4.12. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

A. "neighborhood electric car" means a

four-wheeled electric motor vehicle that has a maximum speed

of more than twenty miles per hour but less than twenty-five

miles per hour and complies with the federal requirements

specified in 49 CFR 571.500;

B. "nonrepairable vehicle" means a vehicle of a

type otherwise subject to registration that:

(1) has no resale value except as a source

of parts or scrap metal or that the owner irreversibly

designates as a source of parts or scrap metal or for

destruction;

(2) has been substantially stripped as a

result of theft or is missing all of the bolts on sheet metal

body panels, all of the doors and hatches, substantially all

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of the interior components and substantially all of the grill

and light assemblies and has little or no resale value other

than its worth as a source of a vehicle identification number

that could be used illegally; or

(3) is a substantially burned vehicle that

has burned to the extent that there are no more usable or

repairable body or interior components, tires and wheels or

drive train components or that the owner irreversibly

designates for destruction or as having little or no resale

value other than its worth as a source of scrap metal or as a

source of a vehicle identification number that could be used

illegally;

C. "nonrepairable vehicle certificate" means a

vehicle ownership document conspicuously labeled

"NONREPAIRABLE" issued to the owner of the nonrepairable

vehicle;

D. "nonresident" means every person who is not a

resident of this state;

E. "nonresident commercial driver's license" means

a commercial driver's license issued by another state to a

person domiciled in that state or by a foreign country to a

person domiciled in that country; and

F. "nonresident's operating privilege" means the

privilege conferred upon a nonresident by the laws of this

state pertaining to the operation by the nonresident of a

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motor vehicle, or the use of a motor vehicle owned by the

nonresident, in this state."

Section 8. Section 66-1-4.15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1990, Chapter 120, Section 16, as amended) is amended to

read:

"66-1-4.15. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

A. "railroad" means a carrier of persons or

property upon cars operated upon stationary rails;

B. "railroad sign or signal" means any sign,

signal or device erected by authority of a public body or

official or by a railroad and intended to give notice of the

presence of railroad tracks or the approach of a railroad

train;

C. "railroad train" means a steam engine, electric

or other motor, with or without cars coupled thereto,

operated upon rails;

D. "reconstructed vehicle" means any vehicle

assembled or constructed largely by means of essential parts,

new or used, derived from other vehicles or which, if

originally otherwise assembled or constructed, has been

materially altered by the removal of essential parts, new or

used;

E. "recreational travel trailer" means a camping

body designed to be drawn by another vehicle;

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F. "recreational vehicle" means a vehicle with a

camping body that has its own motive power, is affixed to or

is drawn by another vehicle and includes motor homes, travel

trailers and truck campers;

G. "registration" means registration certificates

and registration plates issued under the laws of New Mexico

pertaining to the registration of vehicles;

H. "registration number" means the number assigned

upon registration by the division to the owner of a vehicle

or motor vehicle required to be registered by the Motor

Vehicle Code;

I. "registration plate" means the plate, marker,

sticker or tag assigned by the division for the

identification of the registered vehicle;

J. "residence district" means the territory

contiguous to and including a highway not comprising a

business district when the property on the highway for a

distance of three hundred feet or more is in the main

improved with residences or residences and buildings in use

for business;

K. "revocation" means that the driver's license

and privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways

are terminated and shall not be renewed or restored, except

that an application for a new license may be presented to and

acted upon by the division after the expiration of at least

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one year after date of revocation;

L. "right of way" means the privilege of the

immediate use of the roadway;

M. "road tractor" means every motor vehicle

designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and

constructed not to carry a significant load on the road

tractor, either independently or as any part of the weight of

a vehicle or load drawn; and

N. "roadway" means that portion of a street or

highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular

travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder; when a highway

includes two or more separate roadways, the term "roadway"

refers to each roadway separately but not to all of the

roadways collectively."

Section 9. Section 66-1-4.17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1990, Chapter 120, Section 18, as amended by Laws 2003,

Chapter 141, Section 1 and by Laws 2003, Chapter 164, Section

3) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.17. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle

Code:

A. "tank vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is

designed to transport any liquid or gaseous material within a

tank that is either permanently or temporarily attached to

the vehicle or the chassis and that has either a gross

vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one or more

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pounds or is used in the transportation of hazardous

materials requiring placarding of the vehicle under

applicable law;

B. "taxicab" means a motor vehicle used for hire

in the transportation of persons, having a normal seating

capacity of not more than seven persons;

C. "temporary off-site location" means a location

other than a dealer's established or additional place of

business that is used exclusively for the display of vehicles

or vessels for sale or resale and for related business;

D. "through highway" means every highway or

portion of a highway at the entrance to which vehicular

traffic from intersecting highways is required by law to stop

before entering or crossing it when stop signs are erected as

provided in the Motor Vehicle Code;

E. "title service company" means a person, other

than the department, an agent of the department, a licensed

dealer or the motor transportation division of the department

of public safety, who for consideration issues temporary

registration plates or prepares and submits to the department

on behalf of others applications for registration of or title

to motor vehicles;

F. "traffic" means pedestrians, ridden or herded

animals, vehicles and other conveyances either singly or

together using any highway for purposes of travel;

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G. "traffic-control signal" means any device,

whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by

which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed;

H. "traffic safety bureau" means the traffic

safety bureau of the department of transportation;

I. "trailer" means any vehicle without motive

power, designed for carrying persons or property and for

being drawn by a motor vehicle, and so constructed that no

significant part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle;

J. "transaction" means all operations necessary at

one time with respect to one identification card, one driver,

one vessel or one vehicle;

K. "transportation inspector" means an employee of

the motor transportation division of the department of public

safety who has been certified by the director of the division

to enter upon and perform inspections of motor carriers'

vehicles in operation;

L. "transporter of manufactured homes" means a

commercial motor vehicle operation engaged in the business of

transporting manufactured homes from the manufacturer's

location to the first dealer's location. A "transporter of

manufactured homes" may or may not be associated with or

affiliated with a particular manufacturer or dealer;

M. "travel trailer" means a trailer with a camping

body and includes recreational travel trailers and camping

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trailers;

N. "trial court" means the magistrate, municipal

or district court that tries the case concerning an alleged

violation of a provision of the Motor Vehicle Code;

O. "tribal court" means a court created by a tribe

or a court of Indian offense created by the United States

secretary of the interior;

P. "tribe" means an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo

located wholly or partially in New Mexico;

Q. "truck" means every motor vehicle designed,

used or maintained primarily for the transportation of

property;

R. "truck camper" means a camping body designed to

be loaded onto, or affixed to, the bed or chassis of a truck.

A camping body, when combined with a truck or truck cab and

chassis, even though not attached permanently, becomes a part

of the motor vehicle, and together they are a recreational

unit to be known as a "truck camper"; there are three general

types of truck campers:

(1) "slide-in camper" means a camping body

designed to be loaded onto and unloaded from the bed of a

pickup truck;

(2) "chassis-mount camper" means a camping

body designed to be affixed to a truck cab and chassis; and

(3) "pickup cover" or "camper shell" means a

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camping body designed to provide an all-weather protective

enclosure over the bed of a pickup truck and to be affixed to

the pickup truck; and

S. "truck tractor" means every motor vehicle

designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and

constructed to carry a part of the weight of the vehicle and

load drawn."

Section 10. Section 66-2-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-2-3. POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT.--

A. The department is vested with the power and is

charged with the duty of observing, administering and

enforcing the Motor Vehicle Code in cooperation with state

and local agencies as provided by law and the provisions of

law now existing or hereinafter enacted.

B. The secretary may seek an injunction in any

district court to require compliance with or prohibit

violation of the Motor Vehicle Code.

C. A person authorized to carry out the duties

imposed on the department by law is authorized to copy a

record or document, including a birth certificate, necessary

to establish that an applicant has met the requirements for

issuance of a document issued by the department."

Section 11. Section 66-2-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 19, as amended) is amended to read:

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"66-2-15. AGENTS OR DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES TO REMIT MONEY

RECEIVED--BONDS FOR AGENTS OR DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES.--Agents

or department employees shall remit all money received by

them in the carrying out of the duty imposed upon them by the

Motor Vehicle Code, including administrative fees. The

agents' reports are subject to audit and acceptance by the

department. Before undertaking a duty on behalf of the

director, the agents shall execute a surety bond, in an

amount required by the director and in the form required of

public officials by law. The department shall designate

those employees required to be covered by a bond."

Section 12. Section 66-2-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 20, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-2-16. ADMINISTRATIVE FEES--COLLECTION--REMITTANCE--

PAYMENT--OPTIONAL FEES--APPROPRIATION.--

A. The department and its agents shall collect an

administrative fee to defray the department's costs of

operation and of rendering service to the public. The fee

shall be two dollars ($2.00) for each transaction performed

by an agent or the department and shall be collected in

addition to all other fees and taxes imposed.

B. All sums collected by an agent or the

department as administrative fees shall be remitted as

provided in Section 66-2-15 NMSA 1978.

C. Administrative fees remitted by department

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employees shall be deposited by the state treasurer into the

motor vehicle suspense fund and distributed in accordance

with Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections A

through C of this section, a class A county with a population

exceeding three hundred thousand or municipality with a

population exceeding three hundred thousand within a class A

county designated as an agent pursuant to Section 66-2-14.1

NMSA 1978 shall not be paid the fee provided in Subparagraph

(b) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of Section 66-6-23 NMSA

1978.

E. The secretary is authorized to establish by

rule fees to cover the expense of providing additional

services for the convenience of the motoring public. Any

service established for which a fee is adopted pursuant to

this subsection shall be optional, with the fee not being

charged to any person not taking advantage of the service.

Amounts collected pursuant to this subsection are

appropriated to the department for the purpose of defraying

the expense of providing the service.

F. The secretary shall review, at the end of each

fiscal year, the aggregate total of motor vehicle

transactions performed by each municipality, county or fee

agent operating a motor vehicle field office, and identify

each office exceeding ten thousand aggregate transactions per

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year."

Section 13. Section 66-3-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 21, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-1. VEHICLES SUBJECT TO REGISTRATION--

EXCEPTIONS.--

A. Every motor vehicle, manufactured home,

trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer when driven or moved

upon a highway and every off-highway motor vehicle is subject

to the registration and certificate of title provisions of

the Motor Vehicle Code except:

(1) any such vehicle driven or moved upon a

highway in conformance with the provisions of the Motor

Vehicle Code relating to manufacturers, dealers, lien-holders

or nonresidents;

(2) any such vehicle that is driven or moved

upon a highway only for the purpose of crossing the highway

from one property to another;

(3) an implement of husbandry that is only

incidentally operated or moved upon a highway;

(4) special mobile equipment;

(5) a vehicle that is propelled exclusively

by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires though

not operated upon rails;

(6) a freight trailer if it is:

(a) properly registered in another

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state;

(b) identified by a proper base

registration plate that is properly displayed; and

documents that are in the possession of the operator and

exhibited at the request of a police officer;

(7) a freight trailer or utility trailer

owned and used by:

(a) a nonresident solely for the

transportation of farm products purchased by the nonresident

from growers or producers of the farm products and

transported in the trailer out of the state;

(b) a farmer or a rancher who

transports to market only the produce, animals or fowl

produced by that farmer or rancher or who transports back to

the farm or ranch supplies for use thereon; or

and from fairs, rodeos or other places, except racetracks,

where the animals are exhibited or otherwise take part in

performances, in trailers drawn by a motor vehicle or truck

of less than ten thousand pounds gross vehicle weight rating

bearing a proper registration plate, but in no case shall the

owner of an unregistered trailer described in this paragraph

perform such uses for hire;

(8) a moped;

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(9) an electric personal assistive mobility

device;

(10) a vehicle moved on a highway by a

towing service as defined in Section 59A-50-2 NMSA 1978; and

(11) an off-highway motor vehicle exempted

pursuant to Section 66-3-1005 NMSA 1978.

B. A certificate of title need not be obtained for

any vehicle of a type subject to registration owned by the

government of the United States."

Section 14. Section 66-3-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 22, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-2. REGISTRATION--TRAILERS, SEMITRAILERS, POLE

TRAILERS AND FREIGHT TRAILERS.--

A. The motor transportation division of the

department of public safety and the motor vehicle division of

the taxation and revenue department, according to their

appropriate jurisdictions, shall grant permanent registration

to freight trailers subject to registration and may grant

permanent registration to utility trailers not used in

commerce whose gross vehicle weight is less than six thousand

one pounds upon application and payment of the fee required

by Section 66-6-3 NMSA 1978. The registration shall expire,

however, upon the transfer of title or interest in the

vehicle, at which time the vehicle shall be reregistered.

B. In registering trailers, semitrailers and pole

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trailers, the motor transportation division and the motor

vehicle division may require such information and documents

and may make such tests and investigations as they deem

necessary and practicable to determine or to verify the empty

weights and gross vehicle weights and to ensure that the

vehicles may be safely and legally operated upon the highways

of this state."

Section 15. Section 66-3-2.10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1972, Chapter 7, Section 42) is amended to read:

"66-3-2.10. PROPORTIONAL REGISTRATION NOT EXCLUSIVE.--

Nothing contained in the Motor Transportation Act relating to

the proportional registration of fleet vehicles shall be

construed as requiring any vehicle to be proportionally

registered if it is otherwise registered in this state for

the operation in which it is engaged, including, but not by

way of limitation, registration, temporary registration

permit or trip permit."

Section 16. Section 66-3-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 24, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-4. APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION AND CERTIFICATE

OF TITLE--NONREPAIRABLE VEHICLE CERTIFICATE.--

A. Every owner of a vehicle of a type required to

be registered in this state shall make application to the

division for the registration and issuance of a certificate

of title for the vehicle. Applications shall be upon the

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appropriate forms furnished by the division and shall bear

the signature of the owner written with pen and ink. All

applications presented to the division shall contain:

(1) for a vehicle other than a recreational

vehicle, the name, bona fide New Mexico residence address and

mail address of the owner or, if the owner is a firm,

association or corporation, the name, bona fide New Mexico

business address and mail address of the firm, association or

corporation and for a recreational vehicle, the name, bona

fide residence address and mail address of the owner and

proof of delivery in New Mexico;

(2) a description of the vehicle including,

insofar as the hereinafter specified data may exist with

respect to a given vehicle, the make, model, type of body,

number of cylinders, type of fuel used, serial number of the

vehicle, odometer reading, engine or other identification

number provided by the manufacturer of the vehicle, whether

new or used and, if a vehicle not previously registered, date

of sale by the manufacturer or dealer to the person intending

to operate the vehicle. In the event a vehicle is designed,

constructed, converted or rebuilt for the transportation of

property, the application shall include a statement of its

rated capacity as established by the manufacturer of the

chassis or the complete vehicle;

(3) a statement of the applicant's title and

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of all liens or encumbrances upon the vehicle and the names

and addresses of all persons having any interest therein and

the nature of every such interest and the name and address of

the person to whom the certificate of title shall be

delivered by the division;

(4) if the vehicle required to be registered

is a house trailer, as defined in the Motor Vehicle Code, a

certificate from the treasurer or assessor of the county in

which the house trailer is located showing that either:

(a) all property taxes due or to become

due on the house trailer for the current tax year or any past

tax years have been paid; or

(b) no liability for property taxes on

the house trailer exists for the current year or any past tax

years; and

(5) further information as may reasonably be

required by the division to enable it to determine whether

the vehicle is lawfully entitled to registration and the

owner entitled to a certificate of title.

B. Any owner of a vehicle subject to registration

that has never been registered in this state and that has

been registered in another state, except manufactured homes,

shall have such vehicle examined and inspected for its

identification number or engine number by the division or an

officer or designated agent thereof incident to securing

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registration, reregistration or a certificate of title from

the division.

C. When such application refers to a vehicle not

previously registered and the vehicle is purchased from a

dealer licensed in this state or a dealer licensed or

recognized as such in any other state, territory or

possession of the United States, the application shall be

accompanied by a manufacturer's certificate of origin duly

assigned by the dealer to the purchaser. In the event that a

vehicle not previously registered is sold by the manufacturer

to a dealer in a state not requiring a manufacturer's

certificate of origin and in the event that the vehicle is

subsequently purchased by a dealer or any person in this

state, the application for title shall be accompanied by the

evidence of title accepted by the state in which the vehicle

was sold by the manufacturer to a dealer in that state

together with evidence of subsequent transfers.

D. Prior to the sale or disposal of a

nonrepairable vehicle, the owner, owner's agent or salvage

pool shall obtain a properly endorsed nonrepairable vehicle

certificate from the department and deliver it to the

purchaser within twenty days after payment in full for the

nonrepairable vehicle and shall also comply with Section

66-3-10.1 NMSA 1978. The department shall accept the

endorsed nonrepairable vehicle certificate in lieu of the

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certificate of ownership or other evidence of ownership when

accompanied by an application and other documents and fees as

may be required by the department. A vehicle for which a

nonrepairable vehicle certificate has been issued shall not

be titled or registered for use on the highways of this

state.

E. If an insurance company makes a total loss

settlement on a nonrepairable vehicle and takes possession of

that vehicle, either itself or through an agent or salvage

pool, the insurance company or an authorized agent of the

insurance company shall:

(1) stamp the face of the title or

manufacturer's certificate of origin with the word

"NONREPAIRABLE", in letters no less than one-half inch high,

at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees to the text

of the title or manufacturer's certificate of origin; and

(2) within twenty days after receipt of

title by the insurer, free and clear of all liens, submit a

copy of the branded title or manufacturer's certificate of

title to the department together with documents explaining

the reason for branding, and shall forward a properly

endorsed certificate of title or manufacturer's certificate

of origin or other evidence of ownership acceptable to the

department together with the proper fee to the department.

The department, upon receipt of the title or manufacturer's

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certificate of origin or other evidence of ownership, shall

issue a nonrepairable vehicle certificate for the vehicle.

F. If an owner of a nonrepairable vehicle elects

to retain possession of the vehicle, the insurance company

shall notify the department of the retention on a form

prescribed by the department. The insurance company shall

also notify the insured or owner of the insured's or owner's

responsibility to comply with this section. The owner shall,

within twenty days from the date of settlement of the loss,

forward a properly endorsed certificate of title or

manufacturer's certificate of origin or other evidence of

ownership acceptable to the department together with the

proper fee to the department. The department, upon receipt

of the title or manufacturer's certificate of origin or other

evidence of ownership, shall issue a nonrepairable vehicle

certificate for the vehicle.

G. If a nonrepairable vehicle is not the subject

of an insurance settlement, the owner shall, within twenty

days from the date of the loss, forward a properly endorsed

certificate of title or manufacturer's certificate of origin

or other evidence of ownership acceptable to the department

together with the proper fee to the department. The

department, upon receipt of the title or manufacturer's

certificate of origin or other evidence of ownership, shall

issue a nonrepairable vehicle certificate for the vehicle.

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H. The department shall not issue a new

registration card and certificate of ownership pursuant to

Subsection A, B or C of this section on a vehicle that has

been issued a nonrepairable vehicle certificate pursuant to

Subsections E, F and G of this section."

Section 17. Section 66-3-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 26, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-6. TEMPORARY REGISTRATION PERMITS, DEMONSTRATION

PERMITS AND TRANSPORT PERMITS.--

A. The department may issue a temporary

registration permit to individuals to operate a vehicle

pending action by the department upon an application for

registration and certificate of title or renewal of

registration when the application is accompanied by the

proper fees and taxes. The temporary registration permit

shall be valid for a period not to exceed thirty business

days from the day it is validated by the department.

Temporary registration permits shall not be extended nor

another issued except for good cause shown.

B. The department may issue a demonstration permit

to individuals and financing institutions to operate a

vehicle for the purpose of demonstrating the vehicle for

resale. The demonstration permit shall be valid for a period

not to exceed five business days from the day it is validated

by the department. Demonstration permits shall not be

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Page 35

extended nor another issued except for good cause shown.

C. The department may issue a transport permit to

a manufacturer of vehicles or transporter of manufactured

homes for the purpose of demonstrating or transporting the

vehicle to a dealer's location. The transport permit shall

be valid for a period not to exceed ten business days, shall

state the number of days for which the transport permit is

valid and shall be validated by the signature of the

manufacturer or transporter. Transport permits shall not be

extended nor another issued except for good cause shown.

D. The department shall issue transport permits to

dealers licensed pursuant to Section 66-4-1 NMSA 1978.

Transport permits shall be used only on vehicles held in the

inventory of the dealer to whom the transport permits are

issued. The transport permits shall be used only for

importing vehicles into this state or for transporting

vehicles between dealers intrastate. Use of transport

permits pursuant to this section shall be deemed compliance

with the requirements of Section 66-3-4 NMSA 1978. The

transport permits shall be valid for not more than five

business days from the date of validation. Transport permits

shall:

(1) name the dealer to whom the transport

permits are issued;

(2) name the authorized driver of the

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vehicle;

(3) show the point of origin and termination

of the trip covered by the transport permit; and

(4) be signed and dated by the dealer who

executed the transport permit.

E. The department shall issue temporary

registration permits to dealers licensed pursuant to Section

66-4-1 NMSA 1978. Temporary registration permits shall be

used only on vehicles sold at retail by the dealer to whom

the temporary registration permits are issued and shall not

be extended nor another issued for the same vehicle except

for good cause shown. Use of the temporary registration

permits pursuant to this section shall be deemed compliance

with the provisions of Section 66-3-4 NMSA 1978. The

temporary registration permits shall be valid for not more

than thirty days from the date of validation. Temporary

registration permits shall:

(1) name the dealer to whom the temporary

registration permits are issued;

(2) name the person to whom the vehicle has

been sold; and

(3) be signed and dated by the dealer who

executed the temporary registration permit.

F. The department shall issue demonstration

permits to dealers licensed pursuant to Section 66-4-1 NMSA

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1978. Demonstration permits shall be used only on vehicles

included in the inventory of the dealer to whom the

demonstration permits are issued. The demonstration permits

shall be used to allow the operation of vehicles for the

limited purposes of testing, demonstrating or preparing a

vehicle for sale or lease. Demonstration permits may not be

used on work or service vehicles, as that term is defined in

Section 66-3-401 NMSA 1978, that are owned, used or held in

inventory by a dealer. Use of the demonstration permits

pursuant to this section shall be deemed compliance with the

provisions of Section 66-3-4 NMSA 1978. A demonstration

permit, after being affixed to a specific vehicle, shall be

valid for as long as the vehicle is held in the dealer's

inventory. A dealer who uses demonstration permits is

required to maintain a list showing the date on which the

dealer assigned the permit to a vehicle and the name and a

description of the vehicle, including its make, model, model

year and vehicle identification number. A dealer shall

maintain the list for three years from the end of the year in

which the dealer issued the permit and must make it available

to the department or its agents and to law enforcement

officers during reasonable business hours. When a vehicle is

sold, the dealer shall keep demonstration permits with other

records of the sale. A demonstration permit shall:

(1) name the dealer to whom the

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Page 38

demonstration permit is issued; and

(2) display a unique identification number

assigned by the department.

G. The department may authorize in writing dealers

licensed pursuant to Section 66-4-1 NMSA 1978 to print and

use at their own cost demonstration permits in conformance

with the provisions of Subsection F of this section, subject

to reasonable requirements established by the department.

H. The department may authorize agents of the

division, in writing, to print and issue demonstration

permits to be used by dealers in conformance with the

provisions of Subsection F of this section, subject to

reasonable requirements established by the department.

Agents who issue demonstration permits shall maintain a list

showing the date on which the permit was issued and the name

of the dealer to whom it was issued. Agents shall maintain

the list for three years from the end of the year in which

they issued the permit and shall make it available to the

department or its agents, and to law enforcement officers,

during reasonable business hours. A demonstration permit

shall:

(1) name the dealer to whom the permit is

issued; and

(2) display a unique identification number

assigned by the department.

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I. The department shall prescribe the size, shape

and content of all temporary registration permits,

demonstration permits and transport permits authorized by

this section. A temporary registration permit, demonstration

permit or transport permit is not valid until affixed to the

vehicle for which it is validated in a manner prescribed by

the department.

J. For the misuse of a temporary registration

permit, demonstration permit or transport permit authorized

by this section by an individual, financing institution,

manufacturer of vehicles, transporter of manufactured homes,

dealer or auto recycler, the secretary may revoke or suspend

the use of that type of permit after a hearing as provided in

Section 66-2-17 NMSA 1978.

K. The department shall collect the administrative

fee imposed in Section 66-2-16 NMSA 1978 in addition to the

actual cost of the temporary registration permit,

demonstration permit or transport permit for each permit

issued by the department pursuant to this section to

individuals, financial institutions, manufacturers,

transporters or auto recyclers.

L. The department may issue temporary registration

permits, demonstration permits and transport permits to

dealers in units of not less than one hundred at a fee

established by the department to cover the actual cost of the

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permits. An administrative fee shall not be charged by the

department when permits are issued by the department pursuant

to the provisions of this subsection.

M. The fees authorized by Subsections K and L of

this section to cover the actual cost of the permits are

appropriated to the department to defray the costs of

administering the permits program. The department shall

remit the administrative fee revenues of this section to the

motor vehicle suspense fund to be distributed in accordance

with Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978."

Section 18. Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 36, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-16. DISTINCTIVE REGISTRATION PLATES--PERSONS WITH

SIGNIFICANT MOBILITY LIMITATION--PARKING PLACARD.--

A. The division shall issue distinctive

registration plates for use on motor vehicles and motorcycles

owned by a person with a significant mobility limitation who

requests a distinctive registration plate and who proves

satisfactorily to the division that the person meets the

standard provided in Subsection I of this section. No fee in

addition to the regular registration fee, if any, applicable

to the motor vehicle or motorcycle shall be collected for

issuance of distinctive registration plates pursuant to this

section.

B. No person shall falsely claim to have a

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Page 41

significant mobility limitation so as to be eligible to be

issued a distinctive registration plate or a parking placard

pursuant to this section when the person does not in fact

have a significant mobility limitation. Upon notice and

opportunity to be heard, the division may revoke and demand

return of any placard when:

(1) it was issued in error or with false

information;

(2) the person receiving the placard is no

longer eligible; or

(3) the placard is being used by ineligible

persons.

C. Upon written application to the division

accompanied by a medical statement by a licensed physician

attesting to the permanent significant mobility limitation, a

resident of the state who has a significant mobility

limitation, as provided in this section, may apply for and be

issued no more than two parking placards for display upon a

motor vehicle registered to the person or motor vehicle owned

by another person who is transporting the person with a

significant mobility limitation. The physician shall provide

the division all information and records necessary to issue a

permanent parking placard. Once approved for use of a

permanent parking placard, a person with a significant

mobility limitation shall not be required to furnish further

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medical information.

D. A parking placard issued pursuant to this

section shall expire on the same date the person's license or

identification card issued pursuant to Section 66-5-401 NMSA

1978 expires.

E. The division shall issue two-sided hanger-style

parking placards with the following characteristics:

(1) a picture of the international symbol of

access;

(2) a hologram to make duplication

difficult;

(3) an imprinted expiration date; and

(4) a full-face photograph of the holder on

the inside of the placard covered by a flap.

F. The division shall consult with the governor's

commission on disability for continued issuance and format of

the placard.

G. The division may issue an identification card

containing a full-face photograph of the holder of the

registration plate or parking placard and the number of the

registration plate or parking placard issued to that person.

H. Upon written application to the division

accompanied by a medical statement from a licensed physician

attesting to a temporary significant mobility limitation, a

person may be issued a temporary placard for no more than one

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Page 43

year. The physician shall provide the division all

information and records necessary to issue a temporary

placard.

I. Registration plates or parking placards issued

to a person with a significant mobility limitation by another

state or foreign jurisdiction shall be honored until the

motor vehicle or motorcycle is registered or the parking

placard holder establishes residency in this state.

J. A person with a significant mobility limitation

means a person who:

(1) cannot walk one hundred feet without

stopping to rest;

(2) cannot walk without the use of a brace,

cane or crutch or without assistance from another person, a

prosthetic device, a wheelchair or other assistive device;

(3) is restricted by lung disease to such an

extent that the person's forced respiratory volume, when

exhaling for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less

than one liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than

sixty millimeters on room air at rest;

(4) uses portable oxygen;

(5) has a severe cardiac condition; or

(6) is so severely limited in the ability to

walk due to an arthritic, neurologic or orthopedic condition

that the person cannot ascend or descend more than ten stair

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steps."

Section 19. Section 66-3-16.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1995, Chapter 129, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-16.1. PROHIBITED ACTS--PENALTIES.--

A. Any person who provides false information in

order to acquire, or who assists an unqualified person to

acquire, a special registration plate or parking placard as

provided in Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 is guilty of a

misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions

of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.

B. Any person, other than the person to whom a

special registration plate or a parking placard was issued,

who in the absence of the holder of the plate or placard,

parks in a designated accessible parking space for persons

with significant mobility limitation while displaying the

plate or placard, is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon

conviction shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of

Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.

C. A special registration plate or parking placard

displayed on a vehicle parked in a designated accessible

parking space for persons with significant mobility

limitation in the absence of the holder of that plate or

placard is subject to immediate seizure by a law enforcement

official and if seized shall be delivered to the division

within seventy-two hours. Failure to surrender the parking

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placard on demand of a law enforcement officer is a petty

misdemeanor and punishable by a fine not to exceed one

hundred dollars ($100)."

Section 20. Section 66-3-18 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 38, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-18. DISPLAY OF REGISTRATION PLATES AND TEMPORARY

REGISTRATION PERMITS--DISPLAYS PROHIBITED AND ALLOWED.--

A. The registration plate shall be attached to the

rear of the vehicle for which it is issued; however, the

registration plate shall be attached to the front of a road

tractor or truck tractor. The plate shall be securely

fastened at all times in a fixed horizontal position at a

height of not less than twelve inches from the ground,

measuring from the bottom of the plate. It shall be in a

place and position so as to be clearly visible, and it shall

be maintained free from foreign material and in a condition

to be clearly legible.

B. A demonstration or temporary registration

permit shall be firmly affixed to the inside left rear window

of the vehicle to which it is issued, unless such display

presents a safety hazard or the demonstration or temporary

registration permit is not visible or readable from that

position, in which case, the demonstration or temporary

registration permit shall be displayed in such a manner that

it is clearly visible from the rear or left side of the

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vehicle.

C. No vehicle while being operated on the highways

of this state shall have displayed either on the front or the

rear of the vehicle any registration plate, including

validating sticker, other than one issued or validated for

the current registration period by the department or any

other licensing authority having jurisdiction over the

vehicle. No expired registration plate or validating sticker

shall be displayed on the vehicle other than an expired

special registration plate, which may be exhibited on the

front of the vehicle.

D. Nothing contained in this section shall be

construed as prohibiting the use of a promotional or

advertising plate on the front of the vehicle."

Section 21. Section 66-3-20.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1988, Chapter 94, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-20.1. PROVIDING FOR EXTENDED REGISTRATION PERIODS

FOR CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLES--CREDIT FOR UNEXPIRED PORTION OF

FEE.--

A. All vehicles, motorcycles or trucks with a

declared gross weight of twenty-six thousand pounds or less

may be registered for a period of two years; provided the

two-year registration period shall begin on the first day of

any month and expire on the last day of any month.

B. The fee for a two-year registration shall be

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twice the fee for a one-year registration.

C. If the owner of a vehicle that is registered

for two years sells, transfers or assigns title to or interest

in the vehicle within the first year of registration and

applies to have the registration number assigned to another

vehicle pursuant to Section 66-3-101 NMSA 1978, upon

assignment, the person may apply for a refund of one-half of

the two-year registration fee."

Section 22. Section 66-3-21 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 41) is amended to read:

"66-3-21. VEHICLE EXCEEDING DECLARED GROSS WEIGHT.--

A. Except as otherwise provided by law, a vehicle

or combination shall not be operated upon the public highways

of this state when the gross vehicle weight or gross

combination vehicle weight exceeds the declared gross weight.

Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be:

(1) assessed a penalty for the lapsed

portion of the registration period in an amount equal to the

difference between the fee for the declared gross weight and

the fee for the gross vehicle weight or gross combination

vehicle weight at which the vehicle or combination was

weighed; and

(2) required to register the vehicle or

combination at the higher declared gross weight in accordance

with the weight at the time of the violation for the remainder

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of the registration period and to pay that fee.

B. Such registration shall not be construed to

authorize the movement of loads in violation of the state's

size and weight laws."

Section 23. Section 66-3-24 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 44, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-24. LOST OR DAMAGED CERTIFICATES, REGISTRATION

EVIDENCE OR PLATES.--

A. In the event any registration evidence or

registration plate is lost, mutilated or becomes illegible,

the owner or legal representative or successor in interest of

the owner of the vehicle for which the registration evidence

or registration plate was issued as shown by the records of

the division shall immediately make application for and may

obtain a duplicate or a new registration under a new

registration number as determined to be the most advisable by

the division upon the applicant furnishing information

satisfactory to the division.

B. In the event any certificate of title is lost,

mutilated or becomes illegible, the owner or legal

representative or successor in interest of the owner of the

boat required to be titled under the provisions of the Boat

Act or the vehicle for which the certificate of title was

issued as shown by the records of the division shall

immediately make application for and may obtain a duplicate

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upon the applicant furnishing information satisfactory to the

division. In the event a lien or encumbrance is filed of

record with the division, the division shall require the

application for the duplicate certificate of title to be

signed by the holder of the lien or encumbrance. Upon

issuance of any duplicate certificate of title, the previous

certificate last issued is void.

C. In the absence of the regularly required

supporting evidence of ownership upon application for

certificate of title, registration or transfer of a boat

required to be titled under the provisions of the Boat Act or

a vehicle, the division may accept an undertaking or surety

bond, in an amount double the value of the boat or vehicle,

which shall be conditioned to protect the department and all

officers and employees of the department and any subsequent

purchaser of the boat or vehicle, any person holding or

acquiring a lien or security interest on the boat or vehicle

or the successor in interest of the purchaser or person

against any loss or damage on account of any defect in or

undisclosed claim upon the right, title and interest of the

applicant or other person in and to the boat or vehicle. The

bond shall run to the true owner or the lienholder. The bond

shall expire three years after the date it became effective."

Section 24. Section 66-3-101 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 48, as amended) is amended to read:

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"66-3-101. TRANSFER BY OWNER--RECORDATION OF MILEAGE OF

VEHICLE--USE OF THE PLATE AND REGISTRATION NUMBER ON ANOTHER

VEHICLE.--

A. When the owner of a registered vehicle sells,

transfers or assigns the owner's title to or interest in, and

delivers the possession of, the vehicle to another, the

registration of the vehicle shall expire. The previous owner

shall notify the division of the sale or transfer giving the

date thereof, the name and address of the new owner and such

description of the vehicle as may be required in the

appropriate form provided for such purpose by the division.

In the case of any transfer, including but not limited to a

transfer resulting from a sale, lease, gift or auction of any

vehicle, the person making the transfer shall sign and shall

record on the document evidencing the transfer of the vehicle

the actual mileage of the vehicle as indicated by the

vehicle's odometer at the time of the transfer.

B. When the owner of a registered vehicle sells,

transfers or assigns title to or interest in the vehicle, the

owner shall remove the registration plates from the vehicle,

except as provided in Subsection C of this section, and either

forward the registration plates to the division or its

authorized agent to be destroyed or apply to have the plate

and the registration number assigned to another vehicle of the

same class. The division may assign the plate and

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registration number to the newly acquired vehicle of the same

class only upon payment of the registration fee, if

applicable, and only if the application is made in the name of

the original registered owner, unless the owner's name has

been changed by marriage, divorce or court order.

C. When the owner of a vehicle bearing a current

registration plate of a foreign state, territory or country

transfers or assigns the owner's title or interest in the

vehicle, the foreign registration plate shall be delivered,

together with the title to the vehicle and evidence of

registration, to the division or its authorized agent at the

time application is made for a New Mexico registration plate,

except when the assignment or transfer of the title is to a

bona fide resident of the foreign state, territory or country

in which the vehicle is registered.

D. The registration plate shall not be displayed

on the newly acquired vehicle until the registration of the

vehicle has been completed and a new registration certificate

issued. However, the temporary registration permit issued for

the vehicle by the dealer pursuant to the provisions of

Section 66-3-6 NMSA 1978 shall be displayed in accordance with

Subsection B of Section 66-3-18 NMSA 1978."

Section 25. Section 66-3-107 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 54, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-107. DUTIES OF SELLER OR TRANSFEROR--ADDITIONAL

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DUTIES OF DEALERS--APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION--PENALTY--

MILEAGE OF VEHICLE.--

A. Any seller or transferor, including a dealer,

of a vehicle required to be registered pursuant to the Motor

Vehicle Code shall furnish to the purchaser upon delivery the

necessary title properly assigned and shall inform the

purchaser that application for registration must be filed with

the department within thirty days of the date of sale. When a

dealer licensed pursuant to Section 66-4-1 NMSA 1978 allows a

vehicle to be purchased over a period of time pursuant to an

expressed or implied contract and elects to retain a security

interest in the vehicle, the dealer shall collect the

necessary registration fees from the purchaser upon delivery

of the vehicle and shall, within thirty days, pay all

registration fees due on the vehicle to the department and

shall give to the new purchaser the new registration

certificate in the purchaser's name.

B. Every dealer, upon transferring by sale, lease

or otherwise any vehicle, whether new or used, of a type

subject to registration pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Code

shall give written notice of the transfer to the department

upon an appropriate form provided by the department.

C. Except as otherwise provided in this section,

the dealer shall indicate on the form the actual mileage of

the vehicle as indicated by the vehicle's odometer at the time

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of the transfer.

D. A sale shall be deemed completed and

consummated when the purchaser of that vehicle has paid the

purchase price or, in lieu thereof, has signed a purchase

contract or security agreement and taken physical possession

or delivery of that vehicle.

E. Failure to apply for assignment of registration

and issuance of a new certificate of title within thirty days

from the date of sale, transfer or assignment of a vehicle

subjects the owner of the newly acquired vehicle to a penalty

of twenty dollars ($20.00), which shall be collected by the

department and shall be in addition to other fees and

penalties provided by law."

Section 26. Section 66-3-118 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 65) is amended to read:

"66-3-118. MANUFACTURER'S CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN--

TRANSFER OF VEHICLE NOT PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED.--

A. Whenever a manufacturer or the agent or

distributor of a manufacturer transfers a vehicle, not

previously registered, to a dealer in this state, the

manufacturer, agent or distributor at the time of transfer of

the vehicle shall deliver to the dealer a manufacturer's

certificate of origin. The certificate shall be signed by the

manufacturer and shall specify that the vehicle described has

been transferred to the dealer named and that the transfer is

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the first transfer of the vehicle in ordinary trade and

commerce.

B. The certificate shall contain a description of

the vehicle, number of cylinders, type of body, engine number,

serial number or other standard identification number provided

by the manufacturer of the vehicle and space for proper

reassignment to a New Mexico dealer or to a dealer duly

licensed or recognized as such in another state, territory or

possession of the United States.

C. Any dealer when transferring a vehicle, not

previously registered, to another dealer shall, at the time of

transfer, give the transferee the proper manufacturer's

certificate of origin fully assigned to the transferee.

D. When a vehicle not previously registered is

transferred to a dealer who does not hold a franchise granted

by the manufacturer of the vehicle to sell that type or model

of vehicle, the transferee must obtain a registration of the

vehicle and certificate of title but shall not be required to

pay the excise tax imposed by Section 7-14-3 NMSA 1978."

Section 27. Section 66-3-302 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 78, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-302. CARAVAN FEE.--

A. A person or an employee, agent or

representative of that person shall not use the highways of

New Mexico for the transportation of any vehicle, regardless

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of whether the vehicle is registered in another state or

whether the vehicle is transported on its own wheels or on

another vehicle or by being drawn or towed behind another, if

the vehicle is transported by any person or the agents or

employees of that person engaged in the business of

transporting vehicles or if the vehicle is being transported

for the purpose of delivery to any purchaser of the vehicle on

a sale or contract of sale previously made, unless the vehicle

carries:

(1) a valid New Mexico registration plate;

(2) a valid dealer's plate issued by the

department;

(3) a special permit for the use of the

highways of this state for the transportation of the vehicle

in the manner in which the vehicle is being transported, which

has first been obtained and the fee paid as specified in this

section; or

(4) a valid temporary transportation permit

issued under Subsection B of Section 66-3-6 NMSA 1978.

B. Special permits for the use of the highways of

this state for the transportation of such vehicles shall be

issued by the department of public safety upon application on

the form prescribed by the department of public safety and

upon payment of a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each vehicle

transported by use of its own power and a fee of seven dollars

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($7.00) for each vehicle carried in or on another vehicle or

towed or drawn by another vehicle and not transported in whole

or in part by the use of its own power. A fee imposed

pursuant to this section may be referred to as a "caravan

fee". Every permit shall show upon its face the registration

number assigned to each vehicle, the name and address of the

owner, the manner of transportation authorized and a

description of the vehicle registered, including the engine

number. The permit shall be carried at all times by the

person in charge of the vehicle. A suitable tag or placard

for each vehicle may be issued by the department of public

safety and, if issued, shall be at all times displayed on each

vehicle being transported. The permit, tag or placard shall

not be used upon or in connection with the transportation of

any vehicle other than the one for which the permit, tag or

placard is issued.

C. A caravan fee shall not apply to the

transportation of vehicles carried on another vehicle for the

operation of which a weight distance tax is paid, nor shall

the vehicle transported be required to carry a registration

plate or temporary transportation permits. The motor

transportation and the New Mexico state police divisions of

the department of public safety are authorized to impound any

vehicle transported in violation of the Motor Transportation

Act until a proper permit has been secured and any fine levied

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has been paid."

Section 28. Section 66-3-401 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 80, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-401. OPERATION OF VEHICLES UNDER DEALER PLATES.--

A. Any vehicle that is required to be registered

pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Code and that is included in the

inventory of a dealer may be operated or moved upon the

highways for any purpose, provided that the vehicle display in

the manner prescribed in Section 66-3-18 NMSA 1978 a unique

plate issued to the dealer as provided in Section 66-3-402

NMSA 1978. This subsection shall not be construed as limiting

the use of temporary registration permits issued to dealers

pursuant to Section 66-3-6 NMSA 1978. Each dealer plate shall

be issued for a specific vehicle in a dealer's inventory. If

a dealer wishes to use the plate on a different vehicle, the

dealer must reregister that plate to the different vehicle.

B. The provisions of this section do not apply to

work or service vehicles used by a dealer. For the purposes

of this subsection, "work or service vehicle" includes any

vehicle used substantially as a:

(1) parts or delivery vehicle;

(2) vehicle used to tow another vehicle;

(3) courtesy shuttle; or

(4) vehicle loaned to customers for their

convenience.

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C. Each vehicle included in a dealer's inventory

required to be registered pursuant to the provisions of

Subsection A of this section must conform to the registration

provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code, but is not required to

be titled pursuant to the provisions of that code. When a

vehicle is no longer included in a dealer's inventory, and is

not sold or leased to an unrelated entity, the dealer must

title the vehicle and pay the motor vehicle excise tax that

would have been due when the vehicle was first registered by

the dealer.

D. In lieu of the use of dealer plates pursuant to

this section, a dealer may register and title a vehicle

included in a dealer's inventory in the name of the dealer

upon payment of the registration fee applicable to that

vehicle, but without payment of the motor vehicle excise tax,

provided the vehicle is subsequently sold or leased in the

ordinary course of business in a transaction subject to the

motor vehicle excise tax or the leased vehicle gross receipts

tax."

Section 29. Section 66-3-401.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1998, Chapter 48, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-401.1. USE OF VEHICLES WITH DEALER PLATES BY

COACHES AND ATHLETIC DIRECTORS.--

A. Pursuant to Section 66-3-401 NMSA 1978, a

dealer may register a vehicle in the name of the dealer for

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the purpose of providing the use of a vehicle from the

inventory of the dealer to a full-time coach or athletic

director at any state-supported four-year institution of

higher education in New Mexico.

B. A vehicle that a dealer elects to register

pursuant to Subsection A of this section is not required to be

titled pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code,

but the vehicle must be included in the driver's inventory for

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 purposes and transferred to the

full-time coach or athletic director under conditions that

require the dealer to report the value of the use of the

vehicle as income to the full-time coach or athletic director.

C. The number of vehicles registered and used

pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be excluded

when determining compliance with the maximum number of dealer

plates allowed pursuant to Subsection B of Section 66-3-402

NMSA 1978."

Section 30. Section 66-3-402 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 81, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-402. APPLICATION FOR DEALER PLATES.--

A. A dealer may apply to the department on the

appropriate form for one or more dealer plates. The applicant

shall submit proof of being a bona fide dealer as may

reasonably be required by the department.

B. The maximum number of dealer plates for which a

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dealer of new or used motor vehicles or motorcycles may apply

pursuant to this section shall be:

(1) for a dealer who sold in the previous

calendar year five or more but fewer than fifty vehicles, one

plate;

(2) for a dealer who sold in the previous

calendar year more than fifty but fewer than one hundred

vehicles, three plates;

(3) for a dealer who sold in the previous

calendar year more than one hundred but fewer than five

hundred vehicles, five plates; and

(4) for a dealer who sold in the previous

calendar year five hundred or more vehicles, ten plates.

C. A dealer shall be entitled to five plates in

the first calendar year in which it begins business. A dealer

who is licensed pursuant to the provisions of Section 66-4-1

NMSA 1978 on or after August 1 of any calendar year shall also

be entitled to five plates in the calendar year following the

year in which it is first licensed to do business.

D. The department upon granting application shall

issue to the applicant a certificate containing the

applicant's name and address and the numbers of the dealer

plates assigned to the applicant."

Section 31. Section 66-3-403 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 82, as amended) is amended to read:

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"66-3-403. EXPIRATION OF DEALER PLATES.--Every dealer

plate issued pursuant to Section 66-3-402 NMSA 1978 expires at

midnight on December 31 of each year. Upon payment of the

proper fee, the person to whom the dealer plate was issued may

apply to the department for a new plate or validating sticker

for the ensuing year. Renewal of all dealer plates shall be

on or before December 31. It is a misdemeanor pursuant to the

Motor Vehicle Code to operate a vehicle with a dealer plate

that has expired."

Section 32. Section 66-3-404 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 83, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-404. DEALER PLATES NOT TRANSFERABLE.--

A. Dealer plates are not transferable between

dealers.

B. Whenever a dealer ceases operation for any

reason, the dealer shall surrender to the division any dealer

plates issued to the dealer."

Section 33. Section 66-3-408 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 87) is amended to read:

"66-3-408. SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATES FOR RECREATIONAL

VEHICLES.--All recreational vehicles registered in New Mexico

shall carry a special registration plate, including any armed

forces veteran plate, disabled veteran plate, purple heart

plate, medal of honor plate, ex-prisoner of war plate, Pearl

Harbor survivor plate or patriot plate. The color and design

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Page 62

of the plates shall be at the discretion of the director."

Section 34. Section 66-3-840 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 146) is amended to read:

"66-3-840. BRAKES.--

A. Brake equipment is required as follows:

(1) every motor vehicle other than a

motorcycle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with

brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and

hold the vehicle, including two separate means of applying the

brakes, each of which is effective to apply the brakes to at

least two wheels. If these two separate means of applying the

brakes are connected in any way, they shall be so constructed

that failure of any one part of the operating mechanism does

not leave the motor vehicle without brakes on at least two

wheels;

(2) every motorcycle when operated upon a

highway shall be equipped with at least two brakes that may be

operated by hand or foot;

(3) every bus, truck, truck tractor, road

tractor, trailer and semitrailer and pole trailer shall be

equipped with brakes on all wheels in contact with road

surfaces except:

(a) trailers, semitrailers and pole

trailers of a gross vehicle weight of less than three thousand

pounds;

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(b) any vehicle being towed in a

driveaway-towaway operation; provided, the combination of

vehicles is capable of complying with the performance

requirements of Subsection B of this section;

tractors having three or more axles need not have brakes on

the front wheels except when the vehicles are equipped with at

least two steerable axles, the wheels of one axle need not be

equipped with brakes;

(d) house-moving dollies subject to

regulations adopted by the secretary of transportation under

the Motor Transportation Act; and

(e) motor vehicles of the types named

in Paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subsection manufactured

prior to July 1, 1963;

(4) every house trailer of a gross vehicle

weight in excess of three thousand pounds registered in this

state shall be equipped with brakes on at least two wheels in

contact with road surfaces. Every house trailer of a gross

vehicle weight of three thousand pounds or more when operated

upon a highway or roadway shall be equipped with brakes

adequate to control the movement of and to stop and to hold

the vehicle and so designed as to be applied by the driver of

the towing motor vehicle;

(5) every bus, truck, road tractor or truck

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tractor shall be equipped with parking brakes capable of

locking the rear driving wheels and adequate under any

condition of loading to hold, to the limit of traction of the

braked wheels, the vehicle or combination of vehicles to which

the motor vehicle may be attached. The operating controls of

the parking brakes shall be independent of the operating

controls of the service brakes;

(6) in any combination of motor-drawn

vehicles, means shall be provided for applying the rearmost

trailer brakes of any trailer equipped with brakes in

approximate synchronism with the brakes on the towing vehicle

and developing the required braking effort on the rearmost

wheels at the fastest rate, or means shall be provided for

applying braking effort first on the rearmost trailer equipped

with brakes, or both of the above means capable of being used

alternatively may be employed; and

(7) the brake shoes operating within or upon

the drums on the vehicle wheels of any motor vehicle may be

used for both service and hand operation.

B. Every motor vehicle or combination of

motor-drawn vehicles shall be capable at all times, and under

all conditions of loading, of being stopped on a dry, smooth,

level road, free from loose material, upon application of the

service brake within the distance specified in this subsection

or shall be capable of being decelerated at a sustained rate

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corresponding to these distances:

Feet to stop from

Deceleration

20 miles per

in feet per

hour

second

Vehicles or combinations

of vehicles having brakes

on all wheels........ 30 14

Vehicles or combinations

of vehicles not having

brakes on all wheels . . . . 40 10.7.

C. All brakes shall be maintained in good working

order and shall be so adjusted as to operate as equally as

practicable with respect to the wheels on opposite sides of

the vehicle."

Section 35. Section 66-3-847 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 153, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-847. RESTRICTIONS AS TO TIRE EQUIPMENT.--

A. When use is permitted, every solid rubber tire

on a vehicle shall have rubber on its entire traction surface

at least one-inch thick above the edge of the flange of the

entire periphery.

B. A person shall not operate or move on a highway

a motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer having any tire

surface in contact with the roadway that is wholly or partly

of metal or other hard nonresilient material, except a snow

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tire with metal studs designed to increase traction on ice or

snow.

C. No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall

have on its periphery a block, flange, cleat or spike or any

other protuberance of any material other than rubber that

projects beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire.

However, it shall be permissible to use farm machinery with

tires having protuberances that will not injure the highway

and tire chains of reasonable proportions or snow tires with

metal studs designed to increase traction on ice or snow upon

any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice or

other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to skid.

D. The state transportation commission and local

authorities, in their respective jurisdictions, may, in their

discretion, issue special permits authorizing the operation

upon a highway of traction engines or tractors having movable

tracks with transverse corrugations upon the periphery of the

movable tracks or farm tractors or other farm machinery that

would otherwise be prohibited under the Motor Vehicle Code.

E. A vehicle equipped with solid rubber or cushion

tires shall not be permitted upon any highway of this state

without special permission from the state transportation

commission or the local authority having jurisdiction over the

highway affected, and in no event may any such vehicle be

operated at a speed in excess of that specified by law."

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Section 36. Section 66-3-1004 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 200, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-1004. REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE AND NONRESIDENT

PERMIT FEES--RENEWAL.--

A. The fees for registering an off-highway motor

vehicle are:

(1) seventeen dollars ($17.00) for each

off-highway motor vehicle; and

(2) an amount determined by rule of the

tourism department not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00) for

an off-highway user fee for each off-highway motor vehicle.

B. Upon a change of ownership, the new owner shall

make application and pay registration fees of:

(1) seventeen dollars ($17.00) in the same

manner as provided by rules of the division for original

registration; and

(2) an amount determined by rule of the

tourism department not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00) for

an off-highway user fee for each off-highway motor vehicle.

C. The fees for a nonresident permit of an

off-highway motor vehicle are either:

(1) seventeen dollars ($17.00) for each

off-highway motor vehicle that is not registered in another

state; and

(2) an amount determined by rule of the

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tourism department not to exceed thirty dollars ($30.00) for

an off-highway user fee for each off-highway motor vehicle

that is not currently in compliance with a similar off-highway

user fee law or rule in another state; or

(3) seventeen dollars ($17.00) for a

ninety-day permit to include both the off-highway motor

vehicle not otherwise registered and the off-highway user fee.

D. Except as provided in Paragraph (3) of

Subsection C of this section, each registration certificate

and nonresident permit shall be:

(1) good for two years after the month in

which the off-highway motor vehicle is registered or the

permit is issued; and

(2) renewed every two years.

E. The off-highway user fee for each off-highway

motor vehicle shall be paid upon obtaining and renewing each

registration certificate or nonresident permit.

F. Duplicate registration certificates and

nonresident permits shall be issued upon payment of a

seven-dollar-fifty-cent ($7.50) fee.

G. A fee of one dollar ($1.00) on registration

certificates and nonresident permits shall be collected for

the litter control and beautification fund.

H. The tourism department, in conjunction with the

division and the department of game and fish, may establish

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and maintain sites to collect fees and issue permits for

residents and nonresidents."

Section 37. Section 66-3-1004.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

2005, Chapter 325, Section 4) is amended to read:

"66-3-1004.1. FEES--DISPOSITION.--

A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this

section, fees collected pursuant to Section 66-3-1004 NMSA

1978 shall be distributed as follows:

(1) of each seventeen dollars ($17.00)

collected pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection A, Paragraph

(1) of Subsection B or Paragraph (1) of Subsection C of

Section 66-3-1004 NMSA 1978, five dollars ($5.00) is

appropriated to the division to defray the cost of making and

issuing registration certificates, validating stickers and

nonresident permits for off-highway motor vehicles. The

remaining twelve dollars ($12.00) shall be deposited in the

motor vehicle suspense fund for distribution pursuant to

Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978;

(2) fees collected pursuant to Paragraph (2)

of Subsection A, Paragraph (2) of Subsection B or Paragraph

(2) of Subsection C of Section 66-3-1004 NMSA 1978 to the

fund;

(3) fees collected pursuant to Subsection F

of Section 66-3-1004 NMSA 1978 are appropriated to the

division to defray the cost of making and issuing duplicate

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registration certificates and nonresident permits for

off-highway motor vehicles;

(4) of each seventeen dollars ($17.00)

collected pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection C of Section

66-3-1004 NMSA 1978, five dollars ($5.00) is appropriated to

the division to defray the costs of making and issuing

nonresident permits. The remaining twelve dollars ($12.00)

shall be deposited in the fund; and

(5) fees collected pursuant to Subsection G

of Section 66-3-1004 NMSA 1978 to the tourism department for

the litter control and beautification fund.

B. If fees are collected by the department of game

and fish pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection A, Paragraph

(1) of Subsection B or Paragraphs (1) and (3) of Subsection C

of Section 66-3-1004 NMSA 1978, seven dollars ($7.00) shall be

deposited in the game protection fund, five dollars ($5.00)

shall be deposited in the motor vehicle suspense fund for

distribution pursuant to Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978 and the

remaining five dollars ($5.00) is appropriated to the division

to defray the cost of making and issuing registration

certificates, validating stickers and nonresident permits for

off-highway motor vehicles."

Section 38. Section 66-3-1102 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

2002, Chapter 38, Section 1) is amended to read:

"66-3-1102. ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY

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DEVICES--STANDARDS--OPERATOR REQUIREMENTS--APPLICABILITY--

PENALTIES.--

A. An electric personal assistive mobility device

shall be equipped with:

(1) front, rear and side reflectors;

(2) a braking system that enables the

operator to bring the device to a controlled stop; and

(3) if operated at any time from one-half

hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, a lamp that

emits a white light that sufficiently illuminates the area in

front of the device.

B. The secretary shall by rule prescribe motor

vehicle safety standards applicable to electric personal

assistive mobility devices.

C. An operator of an electric personal assistive

mobility device traveling on a sidewalk, roadway or bicycle

path shall have the rights and duties of a pedestrian and

shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with pedestrians.

An operator shall yield the right of way to pedestrians.

D. Except as provided in this section, no other

provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code shall apply to electric

personal assistive mobility devices.

E. An operator who violates a provision of this

section shall receive a warning for the first offense. For a

second offense, the operator shall be punished by a fine of

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ten dollars ($10.00). For a third or subsequent offense, in

addition to the fine, the electric personal assistive mobility

device shall be impounded for up to thirty days.

F. This section does not apply to personal

assistive mobility devices used by persons with disabilities."

Section 39. Section 66-3-1103 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

2004, Chapter 7, Section 1 and Laws 2004, Chapter 96, Section

1) is amended to read:

"66-3-1103. NEIGHBORHOOD ELECTRIC CARS.--

A. A neighborhood electric car shall be equipped

with head lamps, stop lamps, front and rear turn signal lamps,

tail lamps, reflex reflectors, a parking brake, at least one

interior and one exterior rear view mirror, a windshield,

windshield wipers, a speedometer, an odometer, braking for

each wheel, seat belts and a vehicle identification number.

B. Except as provided in Subsection C or D of this

section, a neighborhood electric car, properly registered

pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code, in

compliance with the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act and

driven by an individual with a valid driver's license, may be

operated on any street, roadway or highway under the

jurisdiction of either the state or a local authority if the

posted maximum speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour or

less; provided, a neighborhood electric car may cross at an

intersection or permitted crossing point at any street,

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roadway or highway that has a posted maximum speed limit

higher than thirty-five miles per hour.

C. A local authority may prohibit the operation of

neighborhood electric cars on any road under its jurisdiction

if the governing body of the local authority determines that

the prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.

D. The department of transportation may prohibit

the operation of neighborhood electric cars on any road under

its jurisdiction if it determines that the prohibition is

necessary in the interest of safety.

E. Neighborhood electric cars are exempt from the

following provisions:

(1) the emblems or flashing lights

requirement for slow-moving vehicles in Section 66-3-887 NMSA

1978;

(2) any requirement for vehicle emission

inspections adopted by a local authority pursuant to

Subsection C of Section 74-2-4 NMSA 1978; and

(3) the minimum motor displacement

requirement of Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of Section

66-7-405 NMSA 1978."

Section 40. Section 66-4-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 215, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 15,

Section 1 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 324, Section 14) is

amended to read:

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"66-4-2. DEPARTMENT TO ISSUE LICENSE.--

A. Except for recreational vehicles, the

department, upon receiving application accompanied by the

required fee and when satisfied that the applicant is of good

character and complies with the laws of this state with

reference to the registration of vehicles and certificates of

title and the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code, shall

issue to the applicant a license that entitles the licensee to

conduct the business of a dealer, auto recycler or title

service company. The license may be renewed upon application

and payment of the fee required by law. A licensee shall not

lease, loan, transfer or sell its license to another person,

and no person shall use the license of another person for any

purpose.

B. A dealer or auto recycler licensee, before

moving any of the licensee's places of business or opening any

additional place of business, shall apply to the department

for and obtain a supplemental license for which no fee shall

be charged. No supplemental license shall be issued to a

dealer, other than a dealer in motorcycles only, for an

additional place of business unless the business already has

an established place of business.

C. A person to whom the department has issued a

license to conduct the business of a dealer in motorcycles

only is also deemed a recycler of motorcycles without

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additional license."

Section 41. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code,

Section 66-4-2.2 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

"66-4-2.2. OFF-SITE SALES.--

A. A New Mexico licensed dealer, before offering a

vehicle or vessel for sale at a temporary off-site location,

shall apply to the department for and obtain an off-site

permit. No off-site permit shall be issued to a New Mexico

licensed dealer, other than a dealer in motorcycles only, for

a temporary off-site location unless the dealer:

(1) documents to the satisfaction of the

department that the dealer has offered the majority of

dealers, other than dealers in motorcycles only, in the county

in which the proposed temporary off-site location would be

located, the opportunity to offer vehicles or vessels for sale

at the proposed temporary off-site location; provided that the

offer shall be for sale of vehicles or vessels at all times

during which the applicant proposes to sell vehicles or

vessels and shall not be conditioned upon the payment of a fee

by a dealer to whom the off-site permit is addressed that is

greater than a fair share of the actual expenses; and

(2) obtains either an original rider to the

dealer's existing corporate surety bond or an original

corporate surety bond in compliance with the provisions of

Section 66-4-7 NMSA 1978 to cover the proposed temporary

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off-site location and dates of sale.

B. All temporary off-site locations shall be

identified by prominently displayed signs identifying the

names of the New Mexico licensed dealers selling vehicles or

vessels at the temporary off-site location and shall be of

sufficient size or space to permit the safe display of the

vehicles or vessels offered for sale."

Section 42. Section 66-4-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 216, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-4-3. REFUSAL TO ISSUE LICENSE--CANCELLATION OR

SUSPENSION OF LICENSE OR USE OF TEMPORARY PERMITS--HEARING--

APPEAL.--

A. The department may refuse to issue a license

for just cause and may cancel or suspend a license or use of a

temporary registration permit, demonstration permit or

transport permit for violation of the Motor Vehicle Code. The

department shall take the action authorized in this section

only after hearing. Notice of hearing shall be given the

party concerned as provided in Section 66-2-11 NMSA 1978. The

notice shall state the proposed action of the department and

the reason for the proposed action.

B. The department shall prepare rules for the

conduct of the hearing. At the hearing, the technical rules

of evidence do not apply, and a party has the right to be

represented by counsel, to call witnesses in the party's own

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behalf and to cross-examine the witnesses of other parties.

C. The secretary or the secretary's designated

agent shall conduct the hearing for the department and shall

cause a record of hearing to be made.

D. Within ten days after completion of the

hearing, the secretary shall cause to be served upon all

parties, in the manner provided in Section 66-2-11 NMSA 1978,

the secretary's findings and decision. The decision shall be:

(1) granting a license or refusing to grant

a license;

(2) continuing a license, canceling a

license or suspending a license for a time stated; or

(3) continuing use of dealer plates and

temporary registration permits, demonstration permits or

transport permits, canceling dealer plates and temporary

registration permits, demonstration permits or transport

permits or suspending use of temporary registration permits,

demonstration permits or transport permits for a time stated.

E. A party aggrieved by the secretary's decision

may file an appeal in the district court pursuant to the

provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978."

Section 43. Section 66-4-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 218, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-4-5. RECORDS OF PURCHASES, OF SALES AND OF VEHICLES

DISMANTLED.--

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A. A dealer licensee shall maintain a record in a

form prescribed by the department of every vehicle of a type

subject to registration pursuant to the provisions of the

Motor Vehicle Code that is bought, sold or exchanged by the

licensee or received by the licensee for sale or exchange.

B. An auto recycler licensee shall maintain a

record in a form prescribed by the department of:

(1) every vehicle of a type subject to

registration pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle

Code that is bought, exchanged or received and dismantled or

otherwise destroyed by the licensee; and

(2) every motor vehicle body, chassis or

engine that is sold or otherwise disposed of by the licensee.

C. Every record required to be maintained pursuant

to Subsection A or B of this section shall state the name and

address of the person from whom the vehicle was purchased or

acquired and the date of the purchase; the name and address of

the person to whom the vehicle or the motor vehicle body,

chassis or engine was sold or otherwise disposed of and the

date of the sale or disposition; and a sufficient description

of every vehicle or motor vehicle body, chassis or engine by

name and identifying numbers sufficient to identify the

vehicle or motor vehicle body, chassis or engine.

D. A title service company licensee shall maintain

a record of:

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(1) every temporary registration permit

issued;

(2) every title and registration application

accepted for processing; and

(3) any other information prescribed by the

department.

E. Every record required to be maintained pursuant

to the provisions of this section shall be retained for a

period of three years from the end of the year in which the

record was created and shall be open to inspection by any

peace officer or officer of the department during reasonable

business hours. If the licensee fails to maintain the records

required or to permit their inspection during reasonable

business hours, the license becomes invalid."

Section 44. Section 66-5-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 224, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-5-2. DRIVERS MUST BE LICENSED.--

A. Except those expressly exempted from the Motor

Vehicle Code, no person shall drive any motor vehicle,

neighborhood electric car or moped upon a highway in this

state unless the person:

(1) holds a valid license issued under the

provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code; and

(2) has surrendered to the division any

other license previously issued to the person by this state or

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by another state or country or has filed an affidavit with the

division that the person does not possess such other license;

however, the applicant need not surrender a motorcycle license

duly obtained under Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of Section

66-5-5 NMSA 1978.

B. Any person licensed under the provisions of the

Motor Vehicle Code or expressly exempted from licensure may

exercise the privilege granted upon all streets and highways

in this state and shall not be required to obtain any other

license to exercise the privilege by any county, municipality

or any other local body having authority to adopt local police

regulations."

Section 45. Section 66-5-19 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 241, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-5-19. RESTRICTED LICENSES.--

A. The division, upon issuing a driver's license

or a provisional license, has authority, whenever good cause

appears, to impose restrictions, including the shortening of

the licensure period suitable to the licensee's driving

ability with respect to the type of or special mechanical

control devices required on a motor vehicle that the licensee

may operate or such other restrictions applicable to the

licensee as the division determines to be appropriate to

ensure the safe operation of a motor vehicle by the licensee.

B. At age seventy-five and thereafter, the

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applicant shall renew the applicant's license on a yearly

basis at no cost to the applicant.

C. The division may either issue a special

restricted license or may set forth such restrictions upon the

usual license form.

D. The division may issue a restricted license or

a restricted provisional license for driving during daylight

hours only to some visually impaired persons who fail the

usual eyesight test. The health standards advisory board

created pursuant to the provisions of Section 66-5-6 NMSA 1978

shall evaluate the extent of the visual impairment and its

effect on the driving ability of the applicant and, based on

its recommendations, the director may issue a restricted

license under the following conditions:

(1) the applicant has no record of moving

violations;

(2) the necessity of the license is shown to

the satisfaction of the director; and

(3) the applicant satisfies the provisions

of Section 66-5-206 NMSA 1978 relating to proof of financial

responsibility.

E. The division may, upon receiving satisfactory

evidence of any violation of the restrictions of the license,

suspend the license, but the licensee is entitled to a hearing

as upon a suspension under Sections 66-5-1 through 66-5-47

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NMSA 1978.

F. It is a misdemeanor for any person to operate a

motor vehicle in any manner in violation of the restrictions

imposed in a restricted license issued to the person."

Section 46. Section 66-5-29 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 251, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 241,

Section 2 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 269, Section 2) is amended

to read:

"66-5-29. MANDATORY REVOCATION OF LICENSE BY

DIVISION.--

A. The division shall immediately revoke the

driving privilege or driver's license of a driver upon

receiving a record of the driver's adjudication as a

delinquent for or conviction of any of the following offenses,

whether the offense is under any state law or local ordinance,

when the conviction or adjudication has become final:

(1) manslaughter or negligent homicide

resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle;

(2) any offense rendering a person a "first

offender" as defined in the Motor Vehicle Code;

(3) any offense rendering a person a

"subsequent offender" as defined in the Motor Vehicle Code;

(4) any felony in the commission of which a

motor vehicle is used;

(5) failure to stop and render aid as

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required under the laws of this state in the event of a motor

vehicle accident resulting in the death or personal injury of

another;

(6) perjury or the making of a false

affidavit or statement under oath to the division under the

Motor Vehicle Code or under any other law relating to the

ownership or operation of motor vehicles; or

(7) conviction or forfeiture of bail not

vacated upon three charges of reckless driving committed

within a period of twelve months.

B. Except as provided in the Ignition Interlock

Licensing Act and in Subsection C, D, E or F of this section,

a person whose driving privilege or driver's license has been

revoked under this section shall not be entitled to apply for

or receive a new license until one year from the date that the

conviction is final and all rights to an appeal have been

exhausted.

C. A person who upon adjudication as a delinquent

for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor

or drugs or a conviction pursuant to Section 66-8-102 NMSA

1978 is subject to revocation of the driving privilege or

driver's license under this section for an offense pursuant to

which the person was also subject to revocation of the driving

privilege or driver's license pursuant to Section 66-8-111

NMSA 1978 shall have the person's driving privilege or

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driver's license revoked for that offense for a combined

period of time equal to:

(1) one year for a first offender; or

(2) for a subsequent offender:

(a) two years for a second conviction;

(b) three years for a third conviction;

life for a fourth or subsequent conviction, subject to a

five-year review, as provided in Sections 66-5-5 and 66-8-102

NMSA 1978.

D. The division shall apply the license revocation

provisions of Subsection C of this section and the provisions

of Subsection D of Section 66-5-5 NMSA 1978 to a person who

was three or more times convicted of driving a motor vehicle

under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs and who

has a driver's license revocation pursuant to the law in

effect prior to June 17, 2005, upon the request of the person

and if the person has had an ignition interlock license for

three years or more and has proof from the ignition interlock

vendor of no violations of the ignition interlock device in

the previous six months.

E. Upon receipt of an order from a court pursuant

to Section 32A-2-19 NMSA 1978 or Subsection G of Section

32A-2-22 NMSA 1978, the division shall revoke the driver's

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license or driving privileges for a period of time in

accordance with these provisions.

F. Upon receipt from a district court of a record

of conviction for the offense of shooting at or from a motor

vehicle pursuant to Subsection B of Section 30-3-8 NMSA 1978

or of a conviction for a conspiracy or an attempt to commit

that offense, the division shall revoke the driver's license

or driving privileges of the convicted person. A person whose

driver's license or driving privilege has been revoked

pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall not be

entitled to apply for or receive any new driver's license or

driving privilege until one year from the date that the

conviction is final and all rights to an appeal have been

exhausted."

Section 47. Section 66-5-35 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 257, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 241,

Section 4 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 269, Section 4) is amended

to read:

"66-5-35. LIMITED DRIVING PRIVILEGE UPON SUSPENSION OR

REVOCATION.--

A. Upon suspension or revocation of a person's

driving privilege or driver's license following conviction or

adjudication as a delinquent under any law, ordinance or rule

relating to motor vehicles, the person may apply to the

department for a driver's license, provisional license or

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instruction permit to drive, limited to use allowing the

person to engage in gainful employment, to attend school or to

attend a court-ordered treatment program, except that the

person shall not be eligible to apply:

(1) for a limited commercial driver's

license or an ignition interlock license in lieu of a revoked

or suspended commercial driver's license;

(2) for a limited license when the person's

driver's license was revoked pursuant to the provisions of the

Implied Consent Act, except as provided in the Ignition

Interlock Licensing Act;

(3) for a limited license when the person's

driver's license was revoked pursuant to the provisions of

Section 66-8-102 NMSA 1978, except as provided in the Ignition

Interlock Licensing Act;

(4) for a limited license when the person's

driver's license is denied pursuant to the provisions of

Subsection D of Section 66-5-5 NMSA 1978, except as provided

in the Ignition Interlock Licensing Act; or

(5) for a limited license when the person's

driver's license was revoked pursuant to a conviction for

committing homicide by vehicle or great bodily injury by

vehicle, as provided in Section 66-8-101 NMSA 1978.

B. Upon receipt of a fully completed application

that complies with statutes and rules for a limited license or

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an ignition interlock license and payment of the fee specified

in this subsection, the department shall issue a limited

license, ignition interlock license or permit to the applicant

showing the limitations specified in the approved application.

For each limited license, ignition interlock license or permit

to drive, the applicant shall pay to the department a fee of

forty-five dollars ($45.00), which shall be transferred to the

department of transportation. All money collected under this

subsection shall be used for DWI prevention and education

programs for elementary and secondary school students. The

department of transportation shall coordinate with the

department of health to ensure that there is no program

duplication. The limited license or permit to drive may be

suspended as provided in Section 66-5-30 NMSA 1978."

Section 48. Section 66-5-502 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

2003, Chapter 239, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-5-502. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Ignition

Interlock Licensing Act:

A. "denied" means the division has refused to

issue an instruction permit, driver's license or provisional

license pursuant to the provisions of Subsection D of Section

66-5-5 NMSA 1978;

B. "ignition interlock device" means a device,

approved by the traffic safety bureau, that prevents the

operation of a motor vehicle by an intoxicated or impaired

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person;

C. "ignition interlock license" means a driver's

license issued to a person by the division that allows that

person to operate a motor vehicle with an ignition interlock

device after that person's driving privilege or driver's

license has been revoked or denied. The division shall

clearly mark an ignition interlock license to distinguish it

from other driver's licenses; and

D. "revoked" means the division, pursuant to the

provisions of Section 66-5-29 or 66-8-111 NMSA 1978, has

terminated a person's driving privilege or driver's license

for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor

or drugs."

Section 49. Section 66-5-503 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

2003, Chapter 239, Section 3) is amended to read:

"66-5-503. IGNITION INTERLOCK LICENSE--REQUIREMENTS--

EXCLUSIONS.--

A. A person whose driving privilege or driver's

license has been revoked or denied may apply for an ignition

interlock license from the division.

B. An applicant for an ignition interlock license

shall:

(1) provide proof of installation of the

ignition interlock device by a traffic safety bureau-approved

ignition interlock installer on any vehicle the applicant

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drives; and

(2) sign an affidavit acknowledging that:

(a) operation by the applicant of any

vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock device

is subject to penalties for driving with a revoked license;

and

(b) the applicant shall maintain the

ignition interlock device and keep up-to-date records in the

motor vehicle showing required service and calibrations and be

able to provide the records upon request.

C. A person who has been convicted of homicide by

vehicle or great bodily injury by vehicle while under the

influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, as provided in

Section 66-8-101 NMSA 1978, shall not be issued an ignition

interlock license."

Section 50. Section 66-6-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 338, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-6-3. TRAILERS--REGISTRATION FEES.--

A. For freight trailers, the division shall

collect thirteen dollars ($13.00) for permanent registration

or re-registration after sale or transfer.

B. For utility trailers, the division shall

collect:

(1) for the annual registration of each

utility trailer not permanently registered, seven dollars

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($7.00) plus one dollar ($1.00) for each one hundred pounds or

major fraction thereof of actual empty weight over five

hundred pounds;

(2) for the permanent registration of

utility trailers not used in commerce that have a gross

vehicle weight of less than six thousand one pounds, thirty-

three dollars ($33.00) plus seven dollars ($7.00) for each one

hundred pounds or major fraction thereof of actual empty

weight over five hundred pounds; and

(3) for the re-registration of permanently

registered utility trailers after sale or transfer, seven

dollars ($7.00).

C. For travel trailers, the division shall

collect:

(1) for the annual registration of each

travel trailer that is not permanently registered, seven

dollars ($7.00) plus fifty cents ($.50) for each one hundred

pounds or major fraction thereof of gross factory shipping

weight over five hundred pounds or, if gross factory shipping

weight is not available, of actual empty weight over five

hundred pounds;

(2) for the permanent registration of travel

trailers, thirty-three dollars ($33.00) plus three dollars

fifty cents ($3.50) for each one hundred pounds or major

fraction thereof of gross factory shipping weight over five

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hundred pounds or, if the gross factory shipping weight is not

available, of actual empty weight over five hundred pounds;

and

(3) for the re-registration of permanently

registered travel trailers after sale or transfer, seven

dollars ($7.00).

D. At the option of the owner of a fleet of fifty

or more utility trailers wishing to register them in New

Mexico, the division shall issue a registration and

registration plate for each trailer in the fleet, the

registration and registration plate to expire on the last day

of the final month of a five-year period. Registrations and

registration plates shall be issued for five years only if the

owner of the trailers meets the following requirements:

(1) application is made on forms prescribed

by the division and payment of the proper fee is made;

(2) upon the option of the director,

presentation is made at the time of registration of a surety

bond, certificate of deposit or of other financial security;

and

(3) payment is made by the fleet owner of

all registration fees due each year prior to the expiration

date. If such fees are not paid, all registrations and

registration plates in the fleet shall be canceled."

Section 51. Section 66-6-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

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Chapter 35, Section 339, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-6-4. REGISTRATION FEES--TRUCKS, TRUCK TRACTORS,

ROAD TRACTORS AND BUSES.--

A. Within their respective jurisdictions, the

motor vehicle division and the motor transportation division

of the department of public safety shall charge registration

fees for trucks, truck tractors, road tractors and buses,

except as otherwise provided by law, according to the schedule

of Subsection B of this section.

B. Declared Gross Weight

Fee

001 to 4,000 $40

4,001 to 6,000

6,001 to 8,000

8,001 to 10,000

10,001 to 12,000

12,001 to 14,000

113

14,001 to 16,000

128

16,001 to 18,000

143

18,001 to 20,000

157

20,001 to 22,000

172

22,001 to 24,000

187

24,001 to 26,000

201

26,001 to 48,000

118

48,001 and over

172.

C. All trucks whose declared gross weight or whose

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gross vehicle weight is less than twenty-six thousand pounds,

after five years of registration, calculated from the date

when the vehicle was first registered in this or another

state, shall be charged registration fees at eighty percent of

the rate set out in Subsection B of this section.

D. All trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more

than twenty-six thousand pounds and all truck tractors and

road tractors used to tow freight trailers shall be registered

on the basis of gross combination vehicle weight.

E. All trucks with a gross vehicle weight of

twenty-six thousand pounds or less shall be registered on the

basis of gross vehicle weight. A trailer, semitrailer or pole

trailer towed by a truck of such gross vehicle weight shall be

classified as a utility trailer for registration purposes

unless otherwise provided by law.

F. All farm vehicles having a declared gross

weight of more than six thousand pounds shall be charged

registration fees of two-thirds of the rate of the respective

fees provided in this section and shall be issued distinctive

registration plates. "Farm vehicle" means a vehicle owned by

a person whose principal occupation is farming or ranching and

which vehicle is used principally in the transportation of

farm and ranch products to market and farm and ranch supplies

and livestock from the place of purchase to farms and ranches

in this state; provided that the vehicle is not used for hire.

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G. In addition to other registration fees imposed

by this section, beginning July 1, 1994, an annual tire

recycling fee of one dollar fifty cents ($1.50) is imposed at

the time of registration on each vehicle subject to a

registration fee pursuant to this section, except for vehicles

with a declared gross weight of greater than twenty-six

thousand pounds upon which registration fees are imposed by

Subsection B of this section.

H. Three percent of registration fees of trucks

having from twenty-six thousand one pounds to forty-eight

thousand pounds declared gross vehicle weight is to be

transferred to the recycling and illegal dumping fund pursuant

to the provisions of Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978.

I. Three and seventy-five hundredths percent of

registration fees of trucks in excess of forty-eight thousand

pounds declared gross vehicle weight is to be transferred to

the recycling and illegal dumping fund pursuant to the

provisions of Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978."

Section 52. Section 66-6-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 346) is amended to read:

"66-6-11. COMPUTATION OF WEIGHT.--The weight for

determining registration fees for all vehicles shall be the

gross factory shipping weight, or if the gross factory

shipping weight is unavailable, the actual empty weight of the

vehicle, except as otherwise provided by law for trucks, truck

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tractors, road tractors, buses, freight trailers, utility

trailers and travel trailers."

Section 53. Section 66-6-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 351) is amended to read:

"66-6-16. EXEMPTION FOR ARMED FORCES AMPUTEES AND THOSE

WHO HAVE LOST USE OF LIMBS.--A person who is a bona fide

resident of New Mexico, who served in the armed forces of the

United States, who was honorably discharged and who suffered

the loss or complete and total loss of use of one or both legs

at or above the ankle or one or both arms at or above the

wrist while so serving or from a service-connected cause shall

be exempt from payment of any motor vehicle registration fees

to the state on one vehicle a year owned by the person."

Section 54. Section 66-6-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 352, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-6-17. DEALER PLATE FEES.--

A. Except as provided otherwise in Subsection C of

this section, every dealer, except a dealer in motorcycles

only, shall pay each license year fifty dollars ($50.00) for

each dealer plate issued pursuant to Section 66-3-402 NMSA

1978 to the dealer for that license year.

B. Except as provided otherwise in Subsection C of

this section, every dealer in motorcycles only shall pay each

license year ten dollars ($10.00) for each dealer plate issued

pursuant to Section 66-3-402 NMSA 1978 to the dealer for that

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license year.

C. In the event a dealer plate is lost, mutilated

or becomes illegible, a dealer, including a dealer in

motorcycles only, shall obtain a replacement plate pursuant to

the provisions of Section 66-3-24 NMSA 1978. The fee for a

replacement dealer plate shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) for a

dealer or ten dollars ($10.00) for a dealer in motorcycles

only."

Section 55. Section 66-6-19 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,

Chapter 35, Section 354) is amended to read:

"66-6-19. VEHICLE TRANSACTION FEES.--

A. For any transaction concerning the initial

issuance, transfer or revocation of a title or registration,

including filing and recording documents, releasing liens and

certifying copies, the division shall charge three dollars

($3.00). As used in this subsection, "transaction" means all

operations necessary at one time with respect to one vehicle,

including the inspection required by Section 66-3-4 NMSA 1978.

B. No fee shall be charged by the division for the

correction of documents or the issuance of documents in cases

in which the division made errors in the original issuance of

the documents."

Section 56. Section 66-6-22.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1990, Chapter 120, Section 34, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-6-22.1. MOTOR VEHICLE SUSPENSE FUND CREATED--

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RECEIPTS--DISBURSEMENTS.--

A. There is created in the state treasury a fund

to be known as the "motor vehicle suspense fund".

B. The fees collected under the provisions of

Sections 66-1-1 through 66-6-19 NMSA 1978 shall be paid to the

state treasurer for the credit of the motor vehicle suspense

fund not later than the close of the second business day after

their receipt, except as otherwise provided by the Off-Highway

Motor Vehicle Act.

C. Money deposited to the credit of or disbursed

from the motor vehicle suspense fund by the department shall

be accounted for as provided by law, rule or procedure of the

secretary of finance and administration.

D. The balance of the motor vehicle suspense fund

is appropriated for the purpose of making refunds,

distributions and other disbursements authorized or required

by law to be made from the motor vehicle suspense fund,

provided that no distribution shall be made to a municipality,

county or fee agent operating a motor vehicle field office

with respect to money collected and remitted to the department

by that municipality, county or fee agent until the report of

the municipality, county or fee agent is audited and accepted

by the department."

Section 57. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code,

Section 66-6-22.2 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

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"66-6-22.2. ADJUSTMENTS OF DISBURSEMENTS FROM THE MOTOR

VEHICLE SUSPENSE FUND.--

A. The provisions of this section apply to

disbursements from the motor vehicle suspense fund.

B. If the secretary determines that a prior

disbursement from the fund is erroneous, the secretary shall,

pursuant to law, rules or procedures of the department of

finance and administration, adjust future disbursements by the

amount necessary to correct the error.

C. The secretary may, in lieu of recovering the

entire erroneous amount from the next disbursement, recover an

excess disbursement of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more

in installments from current and future disbursements pursuant

to a written agreement whenever the amount of the disbursement

decrease exceeds ten percent of the average disbursement

amount for that recipient for the twelve months preceding the

month in which the secretary's determination is made; provided

that, for the purposes of this subsection, the "average

disbursement amount" shall be the arithmetic mean of the

disbursement amounts within the twelve months immediately

preceding the month in which the determination is made.

D. Except for the provisions of this section, if

the amount by which a disbursement would be adjusted pursuant

to Subsection B of this section is one thousand dollars

($1,000) or less, no adjustment shall be made.

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E. In the event an adjustment authorized by this

section requires a disbursement for which there is no equal

offsetting receipt, the general fund disbursement shall be

reduced by the difference between the offsetting receipt and

the adjustment."

Section 58. Section 66-7-352.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1983, Chapter 45, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-7-352.1. SHORT TITLE.--Sections 66-7-352.1 through

66-7-352.6 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Accessible Parking

Standards and Enforcement Act"."

Section 59. Section 66-7-352.2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1983, Chapter 45, Section 2) is amended to read:

"66-7-352.2. LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The policy and intent

of this legislature is declared to be as follows:

A. that this legislature finds there is a

significant safety hazard for persons with significant

mobility limitation crossing through parking lots and that

this hazard is greatly reduced when parking is provided

adjacent to a building entrance;

B. that commercial and governmental establishments

provide reserved parking for persons with significant mobility

limitation, thus ensuring full and equal opportunity for those

persons to maintain independence and self-respect; and

C. that ultimately society will benefit from the

increased interaction of persons with significant mobility

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limitation with the mainstream that these parking spaces will

provide."

Section 60. Section 66-7-352.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1983, Chapter 45, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-7-352.4. PARKING LOTS--STANDARDS.--

A. Every parking lot coming under the provisions

of the Accessible Parking Standards and Enforcement Act shall

have designated accessible parking spaces for persons with

significant mobility limitation as provided in Subsection B of

this section. No building permit shall be issued by any local

government for the construction or substantial renovation of a

commercial building inviting public access unless the parking

lot has designated accessible parking spaces for persons with

significant mobility limitation as delineated in Subsection B

of this section.

B. The minimum numbers of designated accessible

parking spaces for persons with significant mobility

limitation are as follows:

TOTAL PARKING SPACES IN LOT REQUIRED MINIMUM NUMBER OF

PARKING SPACES FOR PERSONS

WITH SIGNIFICANT MOBILITY

LIMITATION

1 to 25

26 to 35

36 to 50

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51 to 100

101 to 300

301 to 500

501 to 800

801 to 1,000

more than 1,000

20, plus 1 for

each

100 over 1,000.

The designated accessible parking spaces for persons

with significant mobility limitation shall be located so as to

provide the most convenient access to entranceways or to the

nearest curb cut. Every parking lot shall have at least one

designated accessible parking space for persons with

significant mobility limitation designed to accommodate a

motor vehicle passenger van, and there shall be a minimum of

one such space for every eight designated accessible parking

spaces for persons with significant mobility limitation."

Section 61. Section 66-7-352.5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1983, Chapter 45, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-7-352.5. UNAUTHORIZED USE--PENALTIES.--

A. It is unlawful for any person to park a motor

vehicle not displaying a special registration plate or a

parking placard issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978

in a designated accessible parking space for persons with

significant mobility limitation.

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B. It is unlawful for any person to park a motor

vehicle in such a manner so as to block access to any part of

a curb cut designed for access by persons with significant

mobility limitation.

C. A person convicted of violating Subsection A

or B of this section is subject to a fine of not less than two

hundred fifty dollars ($250) or more than five hundred dollars

($500). Failure to properly display a parking placard or

special registration plate issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16

NMSA 1978 is not a defense against a charge of violation of

Subsection A or B of this section.

D. A vehicle parked in violation of Subsection A

or B of this section is subject to being towed at the expense

of the vehicle owner upon authorization by law enforcement

personnel or by the property owner or manager of a parking

lot."

Section 62. Section 66-7-505 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1978, Chapter 35, Section 492, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-7-505. ADVISORY COMMITTEE--CREATION--MEMBERS--

TERMS.--

A. There is created a five-member advisory

committee to the bureau. The chief is, ex officio, the chair

and a voting member of the committee. The governor shall

appoint three members, to terms coterminous with the

governor's tenure, who shall have the following

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qualifications:

(1) one member who is representative of the

law enforcement agencies of this state;

(2) one member who is representative of the

school bus transportation function of the public education

department; and

(3) one member who is representative of the

motor transportation division of the department of public

safety.

B. Appointees who are public officers or public

employees shall be compensated for attendance at meetings

according to the Per Diem and Mileage Act. Appointees who are

not public officers or employees shall be compensated for

attendance at meetings in commensurate amount."

Section 63. Section 66-7-513 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

2003, Chapter 148, Section 2) is amended to read:

"66-7-513. SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM.--

A. The "safe routes to school program" is created

within the department to increase and make safer a student's

ability to walk or ride a bicycle to school.

B. The program may be established to:

(1) provide assistance to the state,

counties and municipalities to identify school route hazards

and implement engineering improvements, including:

(a) installing sidewalks;

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(b) painting crosswalks and other

street and sidewalk areas;

(d) making street improvements;

(e) providing lighting;

(f) providing bus shelters,

particularly in isolated or rural areas;

(g) cutting curbs for access for

persons with significant mobility limitation; and

(h) other safety improvements;

(2) develop criteria, in conjunction with

the department's bicycle, pedestrian and equestrian committee,

school districts and law enforcement agencies and with input

from parents, teachers and school administrators, to be used

in evaluating the applications of the program; and

(3) include information about the safe

routes to school program in public awareness campaigns about

traffic safety."

Section 64. Section 66-8-124 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

1961, Chapter 213, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-8-124. ARRESTING OFFICER TO BE IN UNIFORM.--

A. No person shall be arrested for violating the

Motor Vehicle Code or other law relating to motor vehicles

punishable as a misdemeanor except by a commissioned, salaried

peace officer who, at the time of arrest, is wearing a uniform

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clearly indicating the peace officer's official status.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A

of this section, a municipality may provide by ordinance that

uniformed private security guards may be commissioned by the

local police agency to issue parking citations for violations

of clearly and properly marked fire zones and access zones for

persons with significant mobility limitation. Prior to the

commissioning of any security guard, the employer of the

security guard shall agree in writing with the local police

agency to the commissioning of the employer's security guard.

The employer of any security guard commissioned under the

provisions of this section shall be liable for the actions of

that security guard in carrying out the security guard's

duties pursuant to that commission. Notwithstanding the

provisions of the Tort Claims Act, private security guards

commissioned under this section shall not be deemed public

employees under that act."

Section 65. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is

enacted to read:

"FRAUD IN OBTAINING DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE DIVISION--

PENALTY.--

A. It is a felony for a person to:

(1) knowingly issue an identification card,

driver's license, vehicle or vessel registration or vehicle or

vessel title to a person who is not lawfully entitled to

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issuance of that document;

(2) knowingly accept and use fraudulent

documents as a basis for issuing an identification card,

driver's license, vehicle or vessel registration or vehicle or

vessel title;

(3) knowingly alter a record of an

identification card, driver's license, vehicle or vessel

registration or vehicle or vessel title without legal

justification; or

(4) solicit or accept, directly or

indirectly, anything of value with the intent to influence a

decision or action on an identification card, a driver's

license, a vehicle or vessel registration or a vehicle or

vessel title.

B. A person convicted of violating this section

is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced

pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978."

Section 66. A new section of the Taxation and Revenue

Department Act is enacted to read:

"BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS--DUTIES--EMPLOYEES--CONDITION

OF EMPLOYMENT.--

A. An employee of the department who has access

to or who is assigned to perform work associated with driver's

licenses shall submit to a background investigation as

required by the secretary.

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B. An applicant seeking employment with the

department who may have access to or who may be assigned to

perform work associated with driver's licenses shall submit to

a background investigation as required by the secretary.

C. The secretary shall ensure that fingerprints

as required for a national criminal history records search and

state background investigation are provided by:

(1) an employee of the department who has

access to or is assigned to perform work associated with

driver's licenses; or

(2) an applicant seeking employment with the

department who may have access to or who may be assigned to

perform work associated with driver's licenses.

D. The information obtained in a background

investigation shall be used only to determine if a person

required to submit to a background investigation pursuant to

this section has been convicted of a crime that has a direct

impact on the ability of that person to meet federal

requirements or to perform the specific duties assigned to

that person. The secretary may determine not to continue to

employ or not to initiate employment of a person whose

criminal background investigation contains information that

the person has been convicted of a crime that involved actions

that:

(1) directly reflect on the person's ability

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to perform the specific duties of that person's position or

proposed position; or

(2) would conflict with federal

requirements.

E. Information obtained pursuant to a background

investigation shall be confidential and shall only be used for

determining the fitness of a person to remain or become

employed with the department or to comply with federal

requirements regarding employees who have access to or who may

be assigned to perform work associated with driver's

licenses."

Section 67. REPEAL.--Sections 66-3-15.1 and

74-4F-1 through 74-4F-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2001, Chapter

180, Section 1 and Laws 1996, Chapter 37, Sections 1 through

8, as amended) are repealed.