HOUSE BILL 167

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Patricio Ruiloba and William “Bill” R. Rehm

AN ACT

RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES; REQUIRING THE PERIODIC REPLACEMENT OF LICENSE PLATES; INCREASING LICENSE PLATE FEES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 66-3-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 37, as amended) is amended to read:

     "66-3-17. REGISTRATION PLATE--REPLACEMENT OF PLATE.--

          A. Succeeding registration renewals of the registration plate issued under Section 66-3-14 NMSA 1978 shall cause the division to issue a validating sticker only, except as provided in Subsections [B and] C through E of this section.

          B. The person to whom the registration plate is issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 may, at any time, apply for the issuance of a duplicate or replacement plate, and upon the surrender of the plate the person then has, the applicant shall be issued a duplicate or replacement plate.

          [B.] C. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, the person to whom the plate is issued may, at any time, apply for the issuance of a duplicate or replacement plate, and upon the surrender of the registration plate [he] the person then has, along with the payment of a reasonable fee set by the director that will cover the cost of the production and distribution of the plate, the applicant shall be issued a duplicate or replacement plate.

          [C.] D. Any peace officer may, upon discovering that the registration plate of any vehicle is illegible because of wear or damage or other cause, issue a citation to the owner or operator of the vehicle. The citation shall provide that the owner shall, within thirty days from the date of the citation, apply for and obtain a duplicate or replacement plate from the division.

          E. Except for registration plates issued pursuant to Section 66-3-27 or 66-3-423 NMSA 1978, a registration plate shall not be valid for more than eight years. Prior to issuing a validating sticker to the owner of the vehicle that has a registration plate that has been in use for more than seven years, the department shall issue a replacement registration plate for that vehicle."

     SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 66, Article 6 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] REGISTRATION PLATE FEE.--Except for registration plates issued pursuant to Section 66-3-27, 66-3-415 or 66-3-423 NMSA 1978 or issued at no charge pursuant to Section 66-3-16, 66-3-409, 66-3-411, 66-3-412, 66-3-413, 66-3-414, 66-3-421 or 66-3-424.24 NMSA 1978, in addition to all other fees collected by registration of vehicles pursuant to Section 66-3-1 NMSA 1978 or by registration of vehicles pursuant to the Motor Transportation Act, there is imposed on each registration, for each year covered by the registration, a registration plate fee of two dollars ($2.00) to be retained by the department and appropriated to the department to defray the cost of making and issuing registration plates."

     SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2019.

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