SENATE BILL 458

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Timothy Z. Jennings

AN ACT

RELATING TO EMINENT DOMAIN; PROVIDING THAT "PUBLIC USE" INCLUDES A SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT TO THE STATE WHEN A UTILITY EXERCISES THE POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 42A-2-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 125, Section 29) is amended to read:

     "42A-2-1. RAILROAD, TELEPHONE OR TELEGRAPH COMPANY.--Any foreign or domestic railroad, telephone or telegraph company [which] that is duly qualified and doing business in New Mexico shall have the power of eminent domain for acquiring property for public use for the purpose of constructing lines, microwave systems and structures and other communication or transportation structures and other facilities necessary for the operation [for such] of the transportation or communication system for [such] the entity according to the procedure for condemnation as provided in the Eminent Domain Code. As used in this section, "public use" includes the requirement that the primary beneficiaries of the use are the state and its residents."

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