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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR
McSorley
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/29/07
3/2/07
HB
SHORT TITLE
Mediation Procedures Act
SB 592/aSJC#1/aSJC #2
ANALYST
C. Sanchez
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates: HB 192
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Public Education Department (PED)
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
District Attorneys (DA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of SJC#2 Amendment
The Senate Judiciary Amendment makes technical changes.
Synopsis of SJC#1 Amendment
The Senate Judiciary Amendment to Senate Bill 592 adds that a settlement in the mediation be
binding and enforceable.
Synopsis of Original Bill
Senate Bill 592 enacts the Mediation Procedures Act (MPA), which establishes confidentiality
for mediation communications and provides for various exceptions to that confidentiality. It also
provides for enforcement of a settlement agreement reached through mediation.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 592/aSJC#1/aSJC#2 – Page
2
Section 3 defines the scope of the MPA and provides that it applies to a mediation in which the
mediation is required by statute, court or administrative agency rule or when referred to
mediation by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator. It also applies when the parties to the
mediation agree to mediate as evidenced by a record that is signed by the parties. It does not
apply to collective bargaining relationships and agreements, to a mediation conducted by a judge
who might make a ruling on a case, when the parties agree in a prior writing that the MPA will
not apply to the mediation or it is declared by rule of court or government prior to the mediation
that the MPA does not apply.
Section 4 provides that all communications in mediation are confidential and not subject to
disclosure or used as evidence except as provided in the MPA or by court rule.
Section 5 sets out the exceptions to confidentiality, which include when the parties agree in
writing either during or prior to a mediation that communications are not confidential, if the
communications threaten or lead to violence in the mediation, if they reveal intent to commit a
felony or inflict bodily harm, if they disprove a felony, if they are required by law to be public, if
they are sought or offered to disprove a claim of professional misconduct or malpractice or if
they relate to the administrative facts of the mediation. Mediation communications may also be
disclosed if a court orders disclosure after a hearing in camera and for good cause shown if the
evidence is not otherwise available in an action arising out of a mediation agreement. Mediators
shall not be required to make disclosure of mediation communications except as provided above
with the exception of the agreement of the parties to disclose or to prove or disprove a claim of
mediator misconduct or malpractice. Nothing in the MPA prevents a government agency from
ordering prior to mediation that different or additional rules of confidentiality shall apply.
Section 6 provides that written settlement agreements reached in mediation are enforceable like
any other written contract and that a court, administrative agency or arbitrator has the discretion
to incorporate the terms of the agreement in an order or other document disposing of the matter.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The bill could apply to mediation provided in special education dispute resolution proceedings
conducted pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
(IDEA) and 6.31.2.13 NMAC of the state special education rules, since Section 3(A) of the bill
applies the MPA to mediators and mediation in which the parties agree to mediate as evidenced
by a record signed by the mediation parties. Under IDEA and the state rules, mediation is
voluntary and is requested in writing. See 34 CFR § 300.506 and 6.31.2.13(H)(3)(b) and
6.31.2.13(I)(8)(b) NMAC. However, the bill as currently drafted will not affect the mediation
program provided by the Special Education Bureau of the Public Education Department because
Section 5(D)(3) of the bill allows a government when conducting a mediation program under its
auspices to provide for different or additional rules of confidentiality that apply to a mediation.
As presently drafted, Section 6 of the bill is consistent with the enforcement of the settlement
agreement provisions in 34 CFR § 300.506(b)(7) and 6.31.2.13(H)(3)(c) NMAC, which provide
that a settlement agreement is enforceable in court.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The bill would protect the confidentiality of mediation communications, and would also protect
mediators from having to testify or otherwise disclose those communications unless the parties
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Senate Bill 592/aSJC#1/aSJC#2 – Page
3
agreed to do so. This would prove helpful to state agencies because it would help promote the
use of mediation to resolve disputes between agencies and their employees (or members of the
public
).
DUPLICATION
HB192
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
Since the special education mediation program is governed by both federal and state regulations,
there will be no consequences to the program if the bill is not enacted. Mediations will still
occur. Parties will move forward creating their own agreements to their mediation procedure.
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