46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

RELATING TO THE NEW MEXICO LOTTERY ACT; REQUIRING UNCLAIMED LOTTERY PRIZES TO BE PAID INTO THE GENERAL FUND; AMENDING A SECTION OF THE NMSA 1978.

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

Section 1. Section 6-24-21 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 155, Section 21, as amended) is amended to read:

"6-24-21. DRAWINGS FOR AND PAYMENT OF PRIZES--UNCLAIMED PRIZES--APPLICABILITY OF TAXATION.--

A. All lottery prize drawings shall be open to the public. If the prior written approval of the chief executive officer and the executive vice president for security are obtained, the selection of winning entries may be performed by an employee of the lottery. A member of the board shall not perform the selection of a winning entry. Drawings for a prize of more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) shall be conducted and videotaped by the security division and witnessed by the internal auditor of the authority or his designee. Promotional drawings for a prize of less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) are exempt from the requirements of this subsection if prior written approval is given by the chief executive officer and the executive vice president for security. All lottery drawing equipment used in public drawings to select winning numbers or entries or participants for prizes shall be examined and tested by the chief executive officer's staff and the internal auditor of the authority or his designee prior to and after each public drawing.

B. [Any] A lottery prize is subject to applicable state taxes. The authority shall report to the state and federal taxing authorities any lottery prize exceeding six hundred dollars ($600).

C. The authority shall adopt rules, policies and procedures to conduct fair and equitable drawings and establish a system of verifying the validity of tickets claimed to win prizes and to effect payment of such prizes, provided:

(1) [no] a prize shall not be paid upon a ticket purchased or sold in violation of the New Mexico Lottery Act. Any [such] resulting prize shall constitute an unclaimed prize for purposes of this section;

(2) the authority is discharged from all liability upon payment of a prize;

(3) the board may by rule provide for the payment of prizes by lottery retailers, whether or not the lottery retailer sold the winning ticket, whenever the amount of the prize is less than an amount set by board rule. Payment shall not be made directly to a player by a machine or a mechanical or electronic device;

(4) prizes not claimed within the time period established by the authority are forfeited and shall be paid into the [prize] general fund. [No] Interest is not due on a prize when a claim is delayed;

(5) the right to a prize is not assignable, but prizes may be paid to a deceased winner's estate or to a person designated by judicial order;

(6) until a signature or mark is placed on a ticket in the area designated for signature, a ticket is owned by the bearer of the ticket, but after a signature or mark is placed on a ticket in the area designated for signature, a ticket is owned by the person whose signature or mark appears, and that person is entitled to any prize attributable to the owner; and

(7) the authority is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets."