44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

RELATING TO JUVENILE JUSTICE; PROVIDING MUNICIPAL, MAGISTRATE AND METROPOLITAN COURTS WITH CONCURRENT JURISDICTION OVER MISDEMEANOR AND PETTY MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES AND MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE DELINQUENCY ACT.

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

Section 1. Section 32A-1-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 77, Section 17, as amended) is amended to read:

"32A-1-8. JURISDICTION OF THE COURT--TRIBAL COURT JURISDICTION.--

A. The court has exclusive original jurisdiction, except as provided in Sections 32A-2-29 and 32A-2-29.1 NMSA 1978, of all proceedings under the Children's Code in which a person is eighteen years of age or older and was a child at the time the alleged act in question was committed or is a child alleged to be:

(1) a delinquent child;

(2) a child of a family in need of services; (3) a neglected child;

(4) an abused child;

(5) a child subject to adoption; or

(6) a child subject to placement for a developmental disability or a mental disorder.

B. The court has exclusive original jurisdiction to emancipate a minor.

C. During abuse or neglect proceedings in which New Mexico is the home state, pursuant to the provisions of the Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, the court shall have jurisdiction over both parents to determine the best interest of the child and to decide all matters incident to the court proceedings.

D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to in any way abridge the rights of any Indian tribe to exercise jurisdiction over child custody matters as defined by and in

accordance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. E. A tribal court order pertaining to an Indian child in an action under the Children's Code shall be recognized and enforced by the district court for the judicial district in which the tribal court is located. A tribal court order pertaining to an Indian child that is not subject to the provisions of the Children's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Act and that accesses state resources shall be recognized and enforced pursuant to the provisions of intergovernmental agreements entered into by the Indian child's tribe and the department or another state agency."

Section 2. A new section of the Delinquency Act, Section 32A-2-29.1 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

"32A-2-29.1. [NEW MATERIAL] MISDEMEANOR AND PETTY MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES--MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS.--

A. The municipal, magistrate or metropolitan court shall have concurrent jurisdiction over all misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor offenses or municipal ordinance violations when the person alleged to have committed the violation is a child, with the exception of those violations set forth in Paragraphs (2), (4), (5) and (7) of Subsection A of Section 32A-2-3 NMSA 1978 and misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor offenses alleged to have been committed by the child arising out of the same occurrence pursuant to Subsection B of this section.

B. If the children's court acquires jurisdiction over a child pursuant to any of the offenses set forth in Subsection A of Section 32A-2-3 NMSA 1978, it shall have jurisdiction over all offenses alleged to have been committed by the child arising out of the same occurrence.

C. All misdemeanor or petty misdemeanor offenses or municipal ordinance violations that the child is found to have committed by the municipal, magistrate or metropolitan court shall not be subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Delinquency Act.

D. A municipal, magistrate or metropolitan court may not incarcerate a child who has been found guilty of a misdemeanor or petty misdemeanor offense or a municipal ordinance violation without first securing the approval of the children's court."

Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 1999.