0001| HOUSE BILL 133
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0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003| INTRODUCED BY
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0004| DONALD L. WHITAKER
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0005|
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0006|
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0007|
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0008| FOR THE REVENUE STABILIZATION AND TAX POLICY COMMITTEE
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES; AMENDING THE NEW
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0012| MEXICO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE ACT TO BRING NEW MEXICO
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0013| INTO SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL COMMERCIAL MOTOR
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0014| VEHICLE SAFETY ACT OF 1986, AS AMENDED; ADDING PENALTIES FOR
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0015| VIOLATION OF OUT-OF-SERVICE ORDERS.
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0016|
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0017| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0018| Section 1. Section 66-5-54 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
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0019| Chapter 14, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
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0020| "66-5-54. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the New Mexico
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0021| Commercial Driver's License Act:
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0022| A. "commerce" means:
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0023| (1) any trade, traffic or transportation
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0024| within the jurisdiction of the United States between a place
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0025| in New Mexico and a place outside of New Mexico, including a
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0001| place outside of the United States; and
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0002| (2) trade, traffic and transportation in the
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0003| United States that affects any trade, traffic or
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0004| transportation described in Paragraph (1) of this subsection;
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0005| B. "commercial motor vehicle" means a motor
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0006| vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to
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0007| transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle:
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0008| (1) has a gross combination weight rating of
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0009| more than twenty-six thousand pounds inclusive of a towed unit
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0010| with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand
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0011| pounds;
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0012| (2) has a gross vehicle weight rating of more
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0013| than twenty-six thousand pounds;
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0014| (3) is designed to transport sixteen or more
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0015| passengers, including the driver; or
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0016| (4) is of any size and is used in the
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0017| transportation of hazardous materials, which requires the
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0018| motor vehicle to be placarded under applicable law;
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0019| C. "employee" means any operator of a commercial
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0020| motor vehicle, including full-time, regularly employed
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0021| drivers; casual, intermittent or occasional drivers; leased
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0022| drivers; and independent owner-operator contractors, while in
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0023| the course of operating a commercial motor vehicle, who are
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0024| either directly employed by or under lease to an employer;
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0025| [A.] D. "employer" means any person, including
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0001| the United States, a state or a political subdivision of a
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0002| state or their agencies or instrumentalities, who owns or
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0003| leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns employees to
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0004| operate such a vehicle;
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0005| E. "gross combination weight rating" means the
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0006| value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a
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0007| combination vehicle. In the absence of a value specified by
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0008| the manufacturer, gross combination weight rating shall be
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0009| determined by adding the gross vehicle weight rating of the
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0010| power unit and the total weight of the towed unit or units and
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0011| any load thereon;
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0012| F. "gross vehicle weight rating" means the value
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0013| specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single
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0014| vehicle;
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0015| [B.] G. "out-of-service order" means a
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0016| [temporary prohibition against driving a commercial motor
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vehicle] declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of
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0018| a federal, state, Canadian, Mexican or local jurisdiction that
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0019| a driver, a commercial motor vehicle or a motor carrier
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0020| operation is temporarily prohibited from operating; and
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0021| [C.] H. "serious traffic violation" means
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0022| conviction of any of the following if committed when
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0023| operating a commercial motor vehicle:
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0024| (1) speed of fifteen miles or more per hour
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0025| above the posted limits;
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0001| (2) reckless driving as defined by Section
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0002| 66-8-113 NMSA 1978 or a municipal ordinance or the law of
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0003| another state;
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0004| (3) homicide by vehicle, as defined in
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0005| Section 66-8-101 NMSA 1978;
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0006| (4) injury to pregnant woman by vehicle as
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0007| defined in Section 66-8-101.1 NMSA 1978 or a municipal
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0008| ordinance or the law of another state; or
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0009| (5) any other violation of law relating to
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0010| motor vehicle traffic control, other than a parking violation,
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0011| that the secretary determines by regulation to be a serious
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0012| traffic violation. A serious traffic violation does not
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0013| include vehicle weight and vehicle defect violation."
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0014| Section 2. Section 66-5-58 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
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0015| Chapter 14, Section 7) is amended to read:
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0016| "66-5-58. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY.--No employer shall
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0017| knowingly allow, require, permit or authorize a driver to
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0018| drive a commercial motor vehicle during any period:
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0019| A. in which the driver has a driver's license
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0020| suspended, revoked or canceled by a state, has lost the
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0021| privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle in any state or
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0022| has been disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle;
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0023| [or]
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0024| B. in which the driver has more than one driver's
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0025| license as of the effective date of the provisions of the New
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0001| Mexico Commercial Driver's License Act; or
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0002| C. in which the employee, the commercial motor
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0003| vehicle the employee is driving or the motor carrier operation
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0004| of the employer is subject to an out-of-service order."
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0005| Section 3. Section 66-5-65 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
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0006| Chapter 14, Section 14, as amended) is amended to read:
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0007| "66-5-65. CLASSIFICATIONS--ENDORSEMENTS--RESTRICTIONS.--
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0008| A. Commercial driver's licenses may be issued with
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0009| the classifications, endorsements and restrictions enumerated
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0010| in Subsections B, C and D of this section. The holder of a
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0011| valid commercial driver's license may drive all vehicles in
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0012| the class for which that license is issued and all lesser
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0013| classes of vehicles except motorcycles and vehicles that
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0014| require an endorsement unless the proper endorsement appears
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0015| on the license.
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0016| B. The following classifications shall apply to
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0017| commercial driver's licenses:
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0018| (1) class A - any combination of vehicles
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0019| with a gross [vehicle weight or a declared gross vehicle
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weight] combination weight rating of more than twenty-six
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0021| thousand pounds, if the gross vehicle weight rating of the
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0022| vehicle or vehicles being towed is in excess of ten thousand
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0023| pounds;
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0024| (2) class B - any single vehicle with a gross
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0025| vehicle weight [or a declared gross vehicle weight] rating
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0001| of more than twenty-six thousand pounds and any such vehicle
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0002| towing a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of ten
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0003| thousand pounds or less; and
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0004| (3) class C - any single vehicle [with a
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gross vehicle weight or a declared gross vehicle weight of
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twenty-six thousand pounds or less or any vehicle towing a
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vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of ten thousand pounds or
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less] or combination of vehicles that does not meet either
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0009| the definition of Paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection but
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0010| is:
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0011| (a) designed to transport sixteen or
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0012| more passengers, including the driver; or
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0013| (b) used in the transportation of
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0014| hazardous materials, which requires the vehicle to be
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0015| placarded under applicable law.
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0016| C. The secretary, by regulation, may provide for
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0017| classifications in addition to those set forth in Subsection B
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0018| of this section.
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0019| D. The following endorsements and restrictions
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0020| shall apply to commercial driver's licenses:
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0021| (1) "H" - authorizes driving a vehicle
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0022| transporting hazardous material;
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0023| (2) "L" - restricts the driver to vehicles
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0024| not equipped with airbrakes;
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0025| (3) "T" - authorizes driving a vehicle towing
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0001| more than one trailer;
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0002| (4) "P" - authorizes driving vehicles, other
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0003| than school buses, carrying passengers;
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0004| (5) "N" - authorizes driving tank vehicles;
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0005| (6) "X" - represents a combination of the
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0006| hazardous [materials] material ("H") and tank vehicle
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0007| ("N") endorsements; [and]
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0008| (7) "S" - authorizes driving a school bus;
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0009| and
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0010| (8) "K" - restricts the driver to driving a
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0011| commercial motor vehicle in intrastate commerce only."
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0012| Section 4. Section 66-5-70 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
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0013| Chapter 14, Section 19) is amended to read:
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0014| "66-5-70. RECIPROCITY.--Notwithstanding any other
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0015| provision of law, a person who is not a New Mexico resident
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0016| may drive a commercial motor vehicle if that person has a
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0017| commercial driver's license issued by any state in accordance
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0018| with the minimum standards established by the federal
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0019| highway administration for the issuance of [New Mexico]
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0020| commercial driver's licenses, if the license is not suspended,
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0021| revoked or canceled and if the person is not disqualified from
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0022| driving a commercial motor vehicle or subject to an out-of-
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0023| service order."
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0024| Section 5. A new section of the New Mexico Commercial
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0025| Driver's License Act is enacted to read:
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0001| "[NEW MATERIAL] PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF OUT-OF-
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0002| SERVICE ORDERS.--
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0003| A. A driver who is convicted of violating an out-
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0004| of-service order shall be subject to a civil penalty of not
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0005| less than ten dollars ($10.00) or more than twenty-five
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0006| dollars ($25.00), in addition to disqualification as provided
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0007| in Subsection C of this section.
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0008| B. An employer who is convicted of a violation of
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0009| Subsection C of Section 66-5-58 NMSA 1978 shall be subject to
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0010| a civil penalty of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00)
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0011| or more than one hundred dollars ($100).
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0012| C. A driver who is convicted of violating an out-
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0013| of-service order shall be disqualified for:
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0014| (1) not less than ninety days or more than
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0015| one year if the driver is convicted of a first violation of an
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0016| out-of-service order;
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0017| (2) not less than one year or more than five
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0018| years if, during any ten-year period, the driver is convicted
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0019| of two violations of out-of-service orders in separate
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0020| incidents; and
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0021| (3) not less than three years or more than
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0022| five years if, during any ten-year period, the driver is
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0023| convicted of three or more violations of out-of-service orders
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0024| in separate incidents."
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0025| Section 6. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act
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0001| apply to commercial driver's licenses issued on or after
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0002| January 1, 1998.
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0003|
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