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

RELATING TO SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES; PROHIBITING SALES OF OR OFFERS TO SELL MOTOR VEHICLES ON SUNDAY; PRESCRIBING PENALTIES.

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

Section 1. SALES OR OFFERS TO SELL MOTOR VEHICLES ON SUNDAY PROHIBITED--EXCEPTION--CIVIL PENALTIES--ENFORCEMENT.--

A. As used in this section:

(1) "employer" means a person who:

(a) owns a business that sells or offers to sell motor vehicles; or

(b) has the authority to determine the hours of operation of a business that sells or offers to sell motor vehicles; and

(2) "motor vehicle" means a self-propelled vehicle that has two or more wheels and that is designed to transport a person or property.

B. An employer shall not:

(1) sell or offer to sell a motor vehicle on Sunday; or

(2) compel an employee to sell or offer to sell a motor vehicle on Sunday.

C. The provisions of Subsection B of this section do not prohibit the occasional sale of a motor vehicle by a person who is not an owner of a business that sells or offers to sell motor vehicles.

D. Each instance when an employer sells or offers to sell a motor vehicle on Sunday is a separate violation of the provisions of this section.

E. An employer who violates the provisions of this section is subject to a civil penalty of:

(1) not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for a first violation;

(2) not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a second violation; and

(3) not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a third or subsequent violation.

F. In order to promote the uniform administration of the provisions of this section, the attorney general is responsible for its enforcement. The attorney general may in appropriate cases delegate his enforcement authority to the district attorneys of the state and when this is done, the district attorneys may enforce the provisions of this section. An action to enforce the provisions of this section shall be brought in the county where the violation is alleged to have occurred.

Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 1999.