Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

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

SPONSOR Rehm

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/04/2007

HB 658

SHORT TITLE Possession of Firearms by Illegal Aliens

SB

ANALYST Wilson

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$0.1

$0.1

Recurring

GF

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

Administrative Office of the District Attorneys (AODA)

Corrections Department (CD)

Office of the Attorney General (OAG)

Public Defender Department (PDD)

Sentencing Commission (SC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 658

amends Section 30-7-16 NMSA 1978 to prohibit receipt, transport or possession

of a firearm or destructive device by an illegal alien. The bill defines illegal alien to mean a

person not legally present in the United States at the time of the possession at issue.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There will be a minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution and documentation

of statutory changes. Any additional fiscal impact on the judiciary will be proportional to the

enforcement of this law and commenced prosecutions. New laws, amendments to existing laws

and new hearings have the potential to increase caseloads in the courts, thus requiring additional

resources to handle the increase.

House Bill 658– Page

2

CD states that there will probably be no impact on them as illegal aliens convicted of felonies

will probably be subject to deportation by the Federal government, and the Department will

pursue this option in order to attempt to avoid having to incarcerate these offenders in New

Mexico prisons.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The AOC provided the following

•

Section 30-7-2 NMSA 1978, governing unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon, does not

prevent the carrying of an unloaded firearm. HB 658 prohibits receipt, transport or

possession of any firearm by an illegal alien, loaded or unloaded.

•

Section 29-19-4 NMSA 1978, governing applicant qualifications for a concealed

handgun license requires an applicant to be a citizen of the United States.

According to the SC illegal aliens have been prohibited from buying or transferring firearms

since the passage of the federal Gun Control Act in 1968.

The OAG states HB 658, although not entirely free from litigation potential, is arguably not

unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, provided:

.

the requisite “police power" argument can be made in support of the State’s legitimate

interest,

.

it is not in conflict with the language of the New Mexico Constitution, and

.

it is not prohibited by the doctrine of federal preemption, because it is consistent with

federal law and federal law does not forbid state enactments in the same area as long as

they do not conflict with federal law.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

Any litigation resulting from the provisions of this bill can be handled by agencies involved with

existing staff as part of their ongoing responsibilities.

DW/csd