SENATE BILL 68

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Heather Berghmans

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO TECHNOLOGY; ENACTING THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOVERNMENT USE ACT; REQUIRING PUBLIC BODIES TO ESTABLISH POLICIES AND TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR THE USE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AUTOMATED DECISION TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES.

 

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

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Artificial Intelligence Government Use Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Artificial Intelligence Government Use Act:

          A. "artificial intelligence" means an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit and implicit objectives, infer from the input that it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments;

          B. "automated decision tool" means a system or service that uses artificial intelligence and has been specifically developed and marketed or specifically modified to make a decision or generate a score, label, prediction or recommendation that is a basis or partial basis to make a decision;

          C. "consequential decision" means a decision that has a material, legal or similarly significant effect on the provision or denial of, or the cost or terms of, the following goods or services to a person:

                (1) education enrollment;

                (2) employment or an employment opportunity;

                (3) a financial or lending service;

                (4) housing;

                (5) health care service;

                (6) insurance; or

                (7) legal service;

          D. "cybersecurity" means acts, practices or systems that eliminate or reduce the risk of loss of critical assets, loss of sensitive information or reputational harm as a result of a cyberattack or breach within an organization's network;

          E. "employee" means a person employed by a public body;

          F. "nonpublic data" means confidential information that is legally protected from public disclosure, including disclosure pursuant to an Inspection of Public Records Act request;

          G. "public body" means:

                (1) a state agency, a board, a bureau, a commission, a department, a district or an instrumentality of the state; or

                (2) a county, a municipality, the governing body of a charter school, a school district, the New Mexico school for the deaf, the New Mexico school for the blind and visually impaired or a public post-secondary educational institution; and

          H. "technology resource" means hardware, infrastructure, personnel or software used to automate office activities, for electronic or telecommunication or to process or store information.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTOMATED DECISION TOOLS--POLICIES.--

          A. A public body shall establish a policy regarding the authorized uses of artificial intelligence and automated decision tools and technology resources by employees.

          B. An artificial intelligence and automated decision tool policy or a technology resource policy established by a public body shall:

                (1) specifically address the security procedures for the use of such tools and resources with regard to maintaining the security of nonpublic data;

                (2) define the authorized use of artificial intelligence and automated decision tools for the public body;

                (3) require an authorized human employee to make a final consequential decision in the course of the employee's employment, regardless of what the artificial intelligence or automated decision tool recommends; and

                (4) prohibit the use of a public body's artificial intelligence and automated decision tools and technology resources to intentionally override or avoid the security or system integrity procedures of the public body other than in the course of a security or system test within the scope of the employee's regular job duties or as authorized by the public body's designated security officer.

          C. An executive, judicial or legislative agency, board, bureau, commission, department or instrumentality of the state shall make its artificial intelligence, automated decision tool and technology resources policies available to the public upon request.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] TRAINING.--A public body shall train its employees on:

          A. its policies regarding cybersecurity and employee use of artificial intelligence, automated decision tools and technology resources; and

          B. the appropriate use of artificial intelligence and automated decision tools in making decisions of any type.

     SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.

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