44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999
RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY; TRANSFERRING THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL AND THE FIREFIGHTER TRAINING ACADEMY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; INCREASING DISTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIRE PROTECTION FUND; PROVIDING FOR SUPPLEMENTAL DISTRIBUTIONS TO FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND DISTRICTS; AMENDING, REPEALING, ENACTING AND RECOMPILING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 8-8-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1998, Chapter 108, Section 9) is amended to read:
"8-8-9. INSURANCE DIVISION.--
A. The director of the insurance division is the "superintendent of insurance" and shall have all the powers and duties prescribed to him in the New Mexico Insurance Code.
B. The insurance division shall consist of such
bureaus as the superintendent of insurance determines for the
orderly conduct of business [including the fire marshal
bureau. The superintendent of insurance may organize the
firefighter's training academy as part of the fire marshal
bureau or may organize it as a separate bureau]."
Section 2. Section 9-19-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 254, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"9-19-4. DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED.--There is created in
the executive branch the "department of public safety". The
department shall be a cabinet department and shall consist of,
but not be limited to, [five] seven program divisions and one
administrative division, as follows:
A. the New Mexico state police division;
B. the special investigations division;
C. the training and recruiting division;
D. the technical and emergency support division;
E. the administrative services division; [and]
F. the motor transportation division; and
G. the state fire marshal division, which may include the firefighter training academy."
Section 3. Section 59A-6-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 105, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-6-5. DISTRIBUTION OF INSURANCE DEPARTMENT
COLLECTIONS.--
A. All money received by the insurance department
[or insurance board] for fees, licenses, penalties and taxes
shall be paid daily by the superintendent to the state
treasurer and by him credited to the "insurance department
suspense fund" [heretofore created and now existing] except as
provided by:
(1) the Law Enforcement Protection Fund Act;
[and]
(2) Section 59A-6-1.1 NMSA 1978; and
(3) the distribution to Carrie Tingley crippled children's hospital pursuant to Section 59A-44-37 NMSA 1978.
B. The superintendent, with approval of the
[corporation] public regulation commission [or insurance
board, as the case may be related to the money involved], may
authorize refund of money erroneously paid as fees, licenses,
penalties or taxes from the insurance department suspense fund
under request for refund made within three years after the
erroneous payment.
C. At the end of every month, the treasurer shall
transfer to the "fire protection fund" fifty percent of the
balance remaining in the insurance department suspense fund,
after applicable refunds, [made therefrom under Subsection B
of this section and] that is derived from property and vehicle
insurance business, and transfer to the general fund the
balance remaining in the insurance department suspense fund
derived from property and vehicle and all other kinds of
insurance business."
Section 4. Section 59A-52-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 947) is amended to read:
"59A-52-1. STATE FIRE MARSHAL CREATED.--The position of
"state fire marshal" is created as the [bureau chief of the
fire marshal bureau of the insurance division] director of the
state fire marshal division of the department of public
safety."
Section 5. Section 59A-52-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 949, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-52-3. DEPUTY STATE FIRE MARSHAL AND OTHER
EMPLOYEES--QUALIFICATIONS OF DEPUTY.--The state fire marshal
may, with the approval of the [superintendent] secretary of
public safety, appoint or remove a deputy state fire marshal
and other employees to assist in the execution of the state
fire marshal's duties; provided, however, that the state fire
marshal and any deputy state fire marshal [appointed by the
state fire marshal] shall be experienced in fire prevention
and fire fighting and have completed a course of training by
actual attendance at a fire-training school."
Section 6. Section 59A-52-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 961) is amended to read:
"59A-52-15. FIRE PREVENTION--PUBLIC OCCUPANCIES
[REGULATIONS] RULES.--
A. For prevention and control of fires the state
fire [board] marshal shall formulate, adopt and promulgate,
and amend or revise [regulations] rules for fire prevention
and safe conduct or use of public occupancies. For the
purposes of this provision "public occupancies" consist of
places of assembly, educational occupancies, institutional
occupancies, residential occupancies consisting of four [(4)]
or more family units, mercantile occupancies, office
occupancies, industrial occupancies, storage occupancies and
miscellaneous structures consisting of towers, underground
structures and windowless buildings and all buildings owned or
occupied by the state government or any political subdivision
thereof or by municipal governments; and [regulations] rules
concerning the sale, servicing or use of fire safety,
prevention, detection or suppression equipment or materials.
The [regulations] rules shall be adopted after notice and
public hearing. The notice shall be entitled "notice of
proposed rule making" and it shall contain the date of the
hearing and shall state the subject of the hearing. A copy of
the notice, along with a copy of the proposed [regulations]
rules, shall be filed with the supreme court librarian at
least twenty [(20)] days prior to the hearing. In addition,
the [board] state fire marshal shall make available for
inspection at [its] his offices, a copy of the proposed
[regulations] rules.
B. The rules [and regulations] shall follow
nationwide standards except in the area of life safety codes
[which] that shall be compatible with the Uniform Building
Code, as revised from time to time, issued by the
international conference of building officials.
C. The rules [and regulations] shall allow
reasonable provision under which facilities in service prior
to the effective date of the rules [and regulations] and not
in strict conformity therewith may be continued in service.
Noncomforming facilities in service prior to the adoption of
[regulations which] rules that are found by the state fire
marshal to constitute a distinct hazard to life or property
shall not be exempt from [regulations] rules nor permitted to
continue in service."
Section 7. Section 59A-52-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 962) is amended to read:
"59A-52-16. FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS [REGULATIONS] RULES--NATIONWIDE STANDARDS--SAVINGS CLAUSE--DEFINITION.--
A. The state fire [board] marshal shall formulate,
adopt and promulgate and amend or revise rules [and
regulations] for the safe vehicular transportation, storage,
handling and use of flammable and combustible liquids.
B. The rules [and regulations] shall be in keeping
with the latest generally recognized safety standards for
flammable and combustible liquids. Rules [and regulations] in
substantial conformity with the published standards of the
national fire protection association for vehicular
transportation, storage, handling and use of flammable and
combustible liquids shall be deemed to be in substantial
conformity with the generally accepted and recognized
standards of safety concerning the same subject matter.
C. The rules [and regulations] shall include
reasonable provisions under which facilities in service prior
to the effective date of the rules [and regulations] and not
in strict conformity therewith may be continued in service.
Nonconforming facilities in service prior to the adoption of
[regulations which] rules that are found by the state fire
marshal to constitute a distinct hazard to life or property
may not be excepted from [regulations] rules or permitted to
continue in service. For guidance in enforcement, the rules
[and regulations] may delineate those types of nonconformities
that should be considered distinctly hazardous and those
nonconformities [which] that should be evaluated in the light
of local conditions. If the need for compliance with any rule
[or regulation] is conditioned on local factors, the rules
[and regulations] shall provide that reasonable notice be
given to the proprietor of the facility affected of intention
to evaluate the need for compliance and of the time and place
at which he may appear and offer evidence thereon.
D. As used in this article the term "flammable
liquid" shall mean any liquid having a flash point below one
hundred [(100)] degrees fahrenheit, and "combustible liquid"
shall mean any liquid having a flash point at or above one
hundred [(100)] degrees fahrenheit and below two hundred
[(200)] degrees fahrenheit."
Section 8. Section 59A-52-21 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 967, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-52-21. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL OF ORDERS AND
MODIFICATIONS.--Any person aggrieved by any order of the state
fire marshal, his deputy or authorized officer or his
designated agent may appeal to the [commission] secretary of
public safety within ten days from the date of the service of
such order. The [commission] secretary shall hear such party
within twenty days after receipt of an appeal request and
shall give not less than ten days' written notice of the
hearing. Within fifteen days after such hearing, the
[commission] secretary shall file [its] his decision and,
unless by [its] his authority the order is revoked or
modified, [it] the order shall be complied with within the
time fixed in the decision, with such time to be not less than
thirty days."
Section 9. Section 59A-52-22 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 968, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-52-22. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ORDER.--A person
aggrieved by a decision of the [state fire board] secretary of
public safety may appeal to the district court pursuant to the
provisions of Section [12-8A-1] 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978."
Section 10. Section 59A-52-23 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 969, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-52-23. ENFORCEMENT OF CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS.--After expiration of time for an administrative appeal, and if
no such appeal has been taken, the state fire marshal may
commence an action in the district court for Santa Fe county
to enforce the cease and desist order by injunction or other
appropriate remedy as the district court may adjudge. The
[commission] secretary of public safety may likewise commence
an action in the district court for Santa Fe county to enforce
[its] his decision rendered on appeal from the cease and
desist order of the state fire marshal."
Section 11. Section 59A-53-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 977, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-53-6. APPEAL AND REVIEW OF DETERMINATION.--The
state fire marshal shall promptly notify each incorporated
city, town and village and county fire district affected of
his determination of needs, and an incorporated city, town or
village or county fire district may appeal from the
determination of the state fire marshal to the [commission]
secretary of public safety, within ten days after the
determination of needs. The [commission] secretary shall
review the determination of the state fire marshal in such
informal and summary proceedings as [it] he deems proper and
shall certify to the state treasurer annually, on or before
the last day of June, the results of all appeals from the
determinations of the state fire marshal. The certification
by the [commission] secretary, or by the state fire marshal if
no appeal is taken, shall be final and binding on all
concerned and not subject to any further review."
Section 12. Section 59A-53-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 978, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-53-7. DISTRIBUTION OF FIRE PROTECTION FUND.--
A. Annually on or before the last day of July, the
state treasurer shall distribute from the money in the fire
protection fund, to each incorporated municipality and to each
county fire district, the amount the marshal or the
[commission] secretary of public safety, as the case may be,
has certified to him. Payment shall be made to the treasurer
of any incorporated municipality and to the county treasurer
of the county in which any county fire district is located for
credit to the county fire district.
B. The state treasurer is authorized to redirect a
distribution to the New Mexico finance authority in the amount
the marshal or the [commission] secretary, as the case may be,
has certified to him pursuant to an ordinance or a resolution
passed by the municipality or county and a written agreement
of the municipality or county in which any county fire
district is located and the New Mexico finance authority."
Section 13. Section 59A-53-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Section 986, as amended) is amended to read:
"59A-53-15. APPROPRIATION FROM STATE TREASURY.--All money
[which] that from time to time is deposited in the state treasury
and credited to the fire protection fund is appropriated to the
[corporation commission for the use of the] state fire marshal
[for the purposes set out in Chapter 59A, Article 53 NMSA 1978 and
shall be distributed by the state treasurer and expended as
provided in that article. Hereafter, all sums in excess of one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for pro rata distribution plus
seventy-five percent of the approved state fire marshal budget for
the succeeding fiscal year plus the amount certified to be
distributed as provided in that article shall be credited to the
general fund on or before June 30 of each fiscal year] to carry
out the provisions of the Fire Protection Fund Law."
Section 14. A new section of the Fire Protection Fund Law is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SUPPLEMENTAL DISTRIBUTION.--
A. The state fire marshal shall adopt and promulgate rules to govern the distribution of money in the fire protection fund in excess of:
(1) the annual amount pursuant to Sections 59A-53-4 and 59A-53-5 NMSA 1978;
(2) the amount required for administration of the state fire marshal division and the firefighter training academy; and
(3) the amount required for volunteer firefighter retirement.
B. The supplemental distribution provided for in Subsection A of this section may be used:
(1) to improve fire department and fire district insurance ratings;
(2) to foster long-range planning goals;
(3) to augment the annual distribution; or
(4) for any other purpose allowed by to the Fire Protection Fund Law.
C. The state fire marshal may amend the rules annually to change the purpose of the year's supplemental distribution.
D. The supplemental distribution shall be distributed with the annual distribution provided for in Sections 59A-53-4 and 59A-53-5 NMSA 1978."
Section 15. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFERS OF PERSONNEL, PROPERTY, CONTRACTS AND REFERENCES IN LAW.--
A. On July 1, 1999, all personnel and all money, appropriations, records, equipment, furniture, supplies and other property belonging to the state fire marshal bureau and the firefighter training academy of the public regulation commission are transferred to the state fire marshal division and the firefighter training academy of the department of public safety.
B. On July 1, 1999, all existing contracts and other obligations of the state fire marshal bureau and the firefighter training academy of the public regulation commission are transferred to the state fire marshal division and the firefighter training academy of the department of public safety. All rules promulgated for the state fire marshal's office or the state fire marshal bureau and the firefighter training academy of the public regulation commission shall be binding on the state fire marshal division or the firefighter training academy of the department of public safety.
C. On July 1, 1999, references in law to the state fire marshal or the state fire marshal bureau of the public regulation commission shall be deemed to be references to the state fire marshal division of the department of public safety. All references in law to the state fire board shall be deemed to be references to the secretary of public safety. All references in law to the firefighter training academy of the public regulation commission shall be deemed to be references to the firefighter training academy of the department of public safety.
Section 16. TEMPORARY PROVISION--COMPILER'S INSTRUCTIONS.--The compiler is instructed to recompile Chapter 59A, Articles 52 and 53 NMSA 1978 relating to the state fire marshal and the fire protection fund to the appropriate chapter of the New Mexico statutes annotated that conform with the provisions of this act.
Section 17. REPEAL.--Sections 59A-52-2, 59A-52-4 and 59A-52-17 NMSA (being Laws 1984, Chapter 127, Sections 948, 950 and 963, as amended) are repealed.
Section 18. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 1999.