HOUSE BILL 218

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

David C. Chavez

AN ACT

RELATING TO LITTER; AMENDING SECTION 30-8-4 NMSA 1978 (BEING LAWS 1963, CHAPTER 303, SECTION 8-4, AS AMENDED) TO PROVIDE FOR A FINE OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500).

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

     SECTION 1. Section 30-8-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1963, Chapter 303, Section 8-4, as amended) is amended to read:

     "30-8-4. LITTERING.--

          A. Littering consists of discarding refuse:

                (1) on public property in any manner other than by placing the refuse in a receptacle provided for the purpose by the responsible governmental authorities or otherwise in accordance with lawful direction; or

                (2) on private property not owned or lawfully occupied or controlled by the person, except with the consent of [the] its owner, lessee or occupant [thereof].

          B. Whoever commits littering is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500). The use of uniform traffic citations is authorized for the enforcement of this section. The court may to the extent permitted by law, as a condition to suspension of any other penalty provided by law, require a person who commits littering to pick up and remove from any public place or any private property, with prior permission of the legal owner, any litter deposited thereon.

          C. Any jail sentence imposed pursuant to Subsection B of this section may be suspended, in the discretion of the magistrate or judge, upon conditions that the offender assist in litter cleanup in the jurisdiction for a period not to exceed the length of the suspended sentence."

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