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AN ACT

RELATING TO TRAFFIC OFFENSES; LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF CERTAIN

FINES AND FEES IMPOSED BY MUNICIPALITIES FOR CERTAIN

OFFENSES; CREATING THE METROPOLITAN COURT BOND GUARANTEE

FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR STATEWIDE EFFORTS TO

PREVENT OR REDUCE INCIDENTS OF DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED.

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

Section 1. Section 3-18-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1965,

Chapter 300, Section 14-17-14) is amended to read:

"3-18-17. NUISANCES AND OFFENSES--REGULATION OR

PROHIBITION.--A municipality, including a home rule

municipality that has adopted a charter pursuant to Article

10, Section 6 of the constitution of New Mexico, may by

ordinance:

A. define a nuisance, abate a nuisance and impose

penalties upon a person who creates or allows a nuisance to

exist; provided that for a municipality with a population of

200,000 or greater as of the last decennial census, the

penalties or fines and costs or fees imposed by an ordinance

for failure to obey a traffic sign or signal, including a red

light violation, or for a speeding offense or violation,

shall be subject to the following criteria:

(1) the total amount of assessed penalties,

fines, fees and costs for each offense or violation shall not

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exceed seventy-five dollars ($75.00);

(2) each month, or other period set by

contract, the municipality shall retain from the gross total

amount of penalties, fines, fees and costs assessed and

collected that month or period an amount subject to audit

that is equal to the setup, maintenance, support and

processing services fees charged for that month or period

pursuant to contractual terms, by a vendor providing systems

and services that assist the municipality in imposing

penalties or fines and costs or fees as provided in this

subsection.

(3) less the retention authorized in

Paragraph (2) of this subsection, the net total amount

assessed in fines, fees and costs by the municipality shall

be distributed to the administrative office of the courts, of

which ten percent of the net total amount assessed shall be

credited to DWI drug court programs and ninety percent of the

net total amount assessed shall be transferred to the New

Mexico finance authority for deposit into the metropolitan

court bond guarantee fund; and

(4) in fiscal year 2009, and annually

thereafter, the municipality shall cause an audit of the

program to be conducted by the state auditor or an

independent auditor selected by the state auditor;

B. regulate or prohibit any amusement or practice

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that tends to annoy persons on a street or public ground; and

C. prohibit and suppress:

(1) gambling and the use of fraudulent

devices or practices for the purpose of obtaining money or

property;

(2) the sale, possession or exhibition of

obscene or immoral publications, prints, pictures or

illustrations;

(3) public intoxication;

(4) disorderly conduct; and

(5) riots, noises, disturbances or

disorderly assemblies in any public or private place."

Section 2. A new section of the New Mexico Finance

Authority Act is enacted to read:

"METROPOLITAN COURT BOND GUARANTEE FUND.--

A. The "metropolitan court bond guarantee fund" is

created in the authority. The fund is comprised of

appropriations, donations, transfers pursuant to Section

3-18-17 NMSA 1978 and money earned from investment of the

fund and otherwise accruing to the fund. Money in the fund

is appropriated to the authority as a credit enhancement to

the distributions from the court facilities fund in order to

guarantee and secure the payment of principal, interest,

premiums and expenses on bonds issued pursuant to Section

34-9-16 NMSA 1978 and Laws 2000, Chapter 5, Section 2.

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Balances remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year

shall not revert. The authority shall administer the fund,

and money from the fund may be drawn only on warrants signed

by the chief executive officer of the authority pursuant to

vouchers signed by the chief executive officer.

B. Before each due date for payments of principal,

interest, premiums or expenses on bonds issued pursuant to

Section 34-9-16 NMSA 1978 and Laws 2000, Chapter 5, Section

2, the authority shall determine if the distributions from

the court facilities fund will be sufficient to meet the

amount due. If the authority determines that distributions

from the court facilities fund are not sufficient to meet the

total amount due, any insufficient amount shall be paid

immediately from the metropolitan court bond guarantee fund.

After each due date for a payment on the bonds, the authority

shall determine the amount necessary to reserve in the

metropolitan court bond guarantee fund as security for future

payments and transfer any balance, above the amount reserved,

to the traffic safety bureau of the department of

transportation. The amounts transferred are appropriated to

the bureau for expenditure on statewide efforts to prevent or

reduce incidents of driving while intoxicated.

C. Upon payment of all principal, interest,

premiums and expenses on bonds guaranteed and secured by

amounts in the metropolitan court bond guarantee fund, the

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authority shall certify to the administrative office of the

courts that all obligations for bonds have been fully

discharged. Upon the certification, the director of the

administrative office of the courts shall cease transferring

amounts to the metropolitan court bond guarantee fund and

transfer those amounts to the traffic safety bureau of the

department of transportation. Such amounts are appropriated

to the bureau for the purposes specified in Subsection B of

this section."

Section 3. TEMPORARY PROVISION--APPLICABILITY.--The

provisions of this act apply prospectively to all municipal

ordinances enacted before or after the effective date of the

provisions of this act.

Section 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the

provisions of this act is July 1, 2008.