45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; ESTABLISHING THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS SECTION WITHIN THE NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

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

Section 1. 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] four program divisions and one administrative division, as follows:

A. the New Mexico state police division;

[B. the special investigations division;

C.] B. the training and recruiting division;

[D.] C. the technical and emergency support division;

[E.] D. the administrative services division; and

[F.] E. the motor transportation division."

Section 2. Section 9-19-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 254, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

"9-19-7. ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS OF DEPARTMENT--POWERS AND DUTIES SPECIFIED BY LAW--ACCESS TO INFORMATION.--

A. The organizational units of the department and the officers of those units specified by law shall have all the powers and duties enumerated in the specific laws involved. However, the carrying out of those powers and duties shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the secretary, who shall retain the final decision-making authority and responsibility for the administration of any such laws as provided in Subsection B of Section 9-19-6 NMSA 1978. The department shall have access to all records, data and information of other state departments, agencies and institutions, including its own organizational units, not specifically held confidential by law.

B. The New Mexico state police division shall consist of the commissioned officers and civilian personnel, including all communications equipment operators, of the New Mexico state police uniform division, [and] the commissioned officers and civilian personnel of the New Mexico state police criminal division, the special investigations section and such other personnel as may be assigned by the secretary or by the governor pursuant to an executive order as authorized in the Department of Public Safety Act. The twenty-nine commissioned personnel of the special investigations division of the department of public safety shall become commissioned agents of the special investigations section of the state police division of the department of public safety, upon successful completion of the appropriate course of study, as authorized by the secretary of public safety. The twenty-nine commissioned personnel shall be in addition to the authorized strength of the state police division, which shall expand accordingly. The nine civilian employees of the special investigations division of the department of public safety shall become civilian employees of the special investigations section of the state police division of the department of public safety.

[C. The special investigations division shall consist of the staff of the governor's organized crime prevention commission, the enforcement personnel of the department of alcoholic beverage control and such other personnel as may be assigned by the secretary or by the governor pursuant to an executive order as authorized in the Department of Public Safety Act. The division is responsible for the enforcement of the Bingo and Raffle Act and the Liquor Control Act.

D.] C. The technical and emergency support division shall consist of the emergency planning and coordination bureau of the department [of public safety], the personnel of the hazardous materials emergency response program or plan and such other functions as communications, crime laboratory and records.

[E.] D. The training and recruiting division shall consist of the personnel of the New Mexico law enforcement academy, the New Mexico state police training division and all other training personnel and functions of the department as the secretary may transfer to this division.

[F.] E. The administrative services division shall consist of the administrative services and services divisions of the New Mexico state police and those administrative support personnel of the other existing departments, divisions or offices as the secretary deems necessary."

Section 3. Section 60-3A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-3A-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Liquor Control Act:

A. "alcoholic beverages" means distilled or rectified spirits, potable alcohol, brandy, whiskey, rum, gin and aromatic bitters bearing the federal internal revenue strip stamps or any similar alcoholic beverage, including blended or fermented beverages, dilutions or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing containing more than one-half of one percent alcohol, but excluding medicinal bitters;

B. "beer" means [any] an alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt and hops or other cereals in water, and includes porter, beer, ale and stout;

C. "brewer" means [any] a person who owns or operates a business for the manufacture of beer;

D. "club" means:

(1) any nonprofit group, including an auxiliary or subsidiary group, organized and operated under the laws of this state with a membership of not less than fifty members who pay membership dues at the rate of not less than five dollars ($5.00) per year and who, under the constitution and bylaws of the club, have all voting rights and full membership privileges and which group is the owner, lessee or occupant of premises used exclusively for club purposes and which group the director finds:

(a) is operated solely for recreation, social, patriotic, political, benevolent or athletic purposes; and

(b) the proposed licensee has been granted an exemption by the United States from the payment of the federal income tax as a club under the provisions of Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or, if the applicant has not operated as a club for a sufficient time to be eligible for the income tax exemption, it must execute and file with the director a sworn letter of intent declaring that it will, in good faith, apply for such exemption as soon as it is eligible; or

(2) an airline passenger membership club operated by an air common carrier [which] that maintains or operates a clubroom at an international airport terminal. For the purposes of this paragraph, "air common carrier" means a person engaged in regularly scheduled air transportation between fixed termini under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the civil aeronautics board;

E. "commission" means the secretary of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the superintendent of regulation and licensing when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

F. "department" means the special investigations [division] section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the superintendent of regulation and licensing when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

G. "director" means the [director] commander of the special investigations [division] section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the superintendent of regulation and licensing when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

H. "dispenser" means [any] a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in his possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages both by the drink for consumption on the licensed premises and in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises;

I. "distiller" means [any] a person engaged in manufacturing spirituous liquors;

J. "golf course" means a tract of land and facilities used for playing golf and other recreational activities that includes tees, fairways, greens, hazards, putting greens, driving ranges, recreational facilities, patios, pro shops, cart paths and public and private roads that are located within the tract of land;

K. "governing body" means the board of county commissioners of a county or the city council or city commissioners of a municipality;

L. "hotel" means [any] an establishment or complex having a resident of New Mexico as a proprietor or manager and where, in consideration of payment, meals and lodging are regularly furnished to the general public. The establishment or complex must maintain for the use of its guests a minimum of twenty-five sleeping rooms;

M. "licensed premises" means the contiguous areas or areas connected by indoor passageways of a structure and the outside dining, recreation and lounge areas of the structure that are under the direct control of the licensee and from which the licensee is authorized to sell, serve or allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages under the provisions of its license; provided that in the case of a restaurant, hotel, golf course or racetrack, "licensed premises" includes all public and private rooms, facilities and areas in which alcoholic beverages are sold or served in the customary operating procedures of the restaurant, hotel, golf course or racetrack;

N. "local option district" means [any] a county [which] that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or any incorporated municipality [which] that falls within a county [which] that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or any incorporated municipality of over five thousand population [which] that has independently voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages under the terms of the Liquor Control Act or any former act;

O. "manufacturer" means a distiller, rectifier, brewer or winer;

P. "minor" means [any] a person under twenty-one years of age;

Q. "package" means [any] an immediate container of alcoholic beverages [which] that is filled or packed by a manufacturer or wine bottler for sale by the manufacturer or wine bottler to wholesalers;

R. "person" means an individual, corporation, firm, partnership, copartnership, association or other legal entity;

S. "rectifier" means [any] a person who blends, mixes or distills alcohol with other liquids or substances for the purpose of making an alcoholic beverage for the purpose of sale other than to the consumer by the drink, and includes all bottlers of spirituous liquors;

T. "restaurant" means [any] an establishment having a New Mexico resident as a proprietor or manager [which] that is held out to the public as a place where meals are prepared and served primarily for on-premises consumption to the general public in consideration of payment and [which] that has a dining room, a kitchen and the employees necessary for preparing, cooking and serving meals; provided that "restaurant" does not include establishments as defined in [regulations] rules promulgated by the director serving only hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and other fast foods;

U. "retailer" means [any] a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in his possession with the intent to sell [any] alcoholic beverages in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises;

V. "spirituous liquors" means alcoholic beverages as defined in Subsection A of this section except fermented beverages such as wine, beer and ale;

W. "wholesaler" means [any] a person whose place of business is located in New Mexico and who sells, offers for sale or possesses for the purpose of sale any alcoholic beverages for resale by the purchaser;

X. "wine" includes the words "fruit juices" and means alcoholic beverages obtained by the fermentation of the natural sugar contained in fruit or other agricultural products, with or without the addition of sugar or other products, [which] that do not contain less than one-half of one percent nor more than twenty-one percent alcohol by volume;

Y. "wine bottler" means [any] a New Mexico wholesaler who is licensed to sell wine at wholesale for resale only and who buys wine in bulk and bottles it for wholesale resale;

Z. "winegrower" means [any] a person who owns or operates a business for the manufacture of wine; and

AA. "winer" means a winegrower."

Section 4. Section 60-4B-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-4B-1. SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS [DIVISION--DIRECTOR] SECTION.--

[A.] There is created the "special investigations [division] section" of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety [department.

B. The director of the special investigations division shall be appointed by the secretary of public safety with the approval of the governor. He shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary]."

Section 5. Section 60-4B-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 5) is amended to read:

"60-4B-2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR.--[A.] The director is responsible for the operation of the department. It is his duty to supervise all operations of the department and to:

[(1)] A. administer and enforce the laws the administration of which the department is charged;

[(2)] B. exercise general supervisory authority over all employees of the department;

[(3)] C. organize the department into such units to enable it to function most effectively;

[(4)] D. confer authority and delegate responsibility as is necessary and appropriate;

[(5)] E. employ, within the limitations of current appropriations and personnel laws, such persons as are required to discharge his duties;

[(6)] F. undertake studies and conduct courses of instruction for department employees which will improve the operations of the department and advance its purposes;

[(7)] G. require compliance by employees of the department with his verbal and written instructions by whatever disciplinary means appropriate; and

[(8)] H. purchase or lease personal property and lease real property for use by the department.

[B. The director, his agents, auditors and employees are commissioned as peace officers in the performance of their duties.]"

Section 6. Section 60-4B-4.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 329, Section 1) is amended to read:

"60-4B-4.1. LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT--DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY--REPORTING REQUIREMENTS--AUTHORITY TO REQUEST INVESTIGATIONS.--

A. Within thirty days following the date of issuance of a citation pursuant to the provisions of the Liquor Control Act, the department of public safety or the law enforcement agency of a municipality or county shall report alleged violations of that act to the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department.

B. The director of the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department may request the

investigators of the special investigations [division] section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety to investigate licensees or activities that the director has reasonable cause to believe are in violation of the Liquor Control Act."

Section 7. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL, PROPERTY, CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND REFERENCES IN LAW.--

A. On July 1, 2001, all personnel, appropriations, money, records, furniture, equipment and other personal and real property of the special investigations division of the department of public safety shall be transferred to the special investigations section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety.

B. On July 1, 2001, all contracts and other obligations binding on the special investigations division of the department of public safety shall be transferred to the special investigations section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety.

C. On July 1, 2001, all references in the law to the special investigations division of the department of public safety shall be deemed to be references to the special investigations section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety and all references in the law to the director of the special investigations division shall be deemed to be references to the commander of the special investigations section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety.

Section 8. APPROPRIATION.--One hundred ninety-four thousand five hundred dollars ($194,500) is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public safety for expenditure in fiscal year 2002 to pay salaries, benefits and other expenses necessary to effectuate the transfer of the special investigations division of the department of public safety to the special investigations section of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2002 shall revert to the general fund.

Section 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2001.