0001| SENATE BILL 199
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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| MANNY M. ARAGON
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0006|
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0008|
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; ELIMINATING THE TAXATION AND
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0012| REVENUE DEPARTMENT'S LAW ENFORCEMENT POWERS RELATING TO MOTOR
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0013| CARRIERS; TRANSFERRING THE POWERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
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0014| PERSONNEL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
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0015|
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0016| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0017| Section 1. Section 65-1-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,
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0018| Chapter 19, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
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0019| "65-1-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor
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0020| Transportation Act:
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0021| A. "combination" means any connected assemblage of
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0022| a motor vehicle and one or more semitrailers, trailers or
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0023| semitrailers converted to trailers by means of a converter
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0024| gear;
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0025| B. "combination gross vehicle weight" means the
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0001| sum total of the gross vehicle weights of all units of a
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0002| combination;
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0003| C. "commercial motor carrier vehicle" means any
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0004| motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of twelve thousand
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0005| pounds or more used or reserved for use in the transportation
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0006| of persons or property for hire, compensation or profit or in
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0007| the furtherance of a commercial enterprise or any vehicle
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0008| designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation
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0009| of property or for drawing other vehicles so designed, used or
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0010| maintained;
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0011| D. "converter gear" means any assemblage of one or
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0012| more axles with a fifth wheel mounted thereon designed for use
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0013| in a combination to support the front end of a semitrailer,
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0014| but not permanently attached thereto. A "converter gear"
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0015| shall not be considered a vehicle as that term is used in
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0016| Chapter 66 NMSA 1978, but weight attributable thereto shall be
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0017| included in declared gross weight;
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0018| E. "declared gross weight" means maximum gross
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0019| vehicle weight or combination gross vehicle weight at which a
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0020| vehicle or combination will be operated during the
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0021| registration period as declared by the registrant for
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0022| registration and fee purposes. The vehicle or combination
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0023| shall have only one "declared gross weight" for all operating
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0024| considerations;
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0025| F. "department", without modification, means the
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0001| taxation and revenue department, the secretary of taxation and
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0002| revenue or any employee of the department exercising authority
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0003| lawfully delegated to that employee by the secretary;
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0004| G. "director" means the secretary;
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0005| H. "division" or "motor transportation division"
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0006| means the department;
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0007| I. "evidence of registration" means any
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0008| documentation issued by the department identifying a motor
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0009| carrier vehicle as being registered with New Mexico or
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0010| documentation issued by another state pursuant to the terms of
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0011| a multistate agreement on registration of vehicles to which
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0012| this state is a party identifying a motor carrier vehicle as
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0013| being registered with that state; provided that evidence of
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0014| payment of the weight distance tax and permits obtained under
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0015| either the Special Fuels Supplier Tax Act or Trip Tax Act are
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0016| not "evidence of registration";
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0017| J. "field [enforcement] inspection" or "in the
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0018| field" means [patrolling of the highway, stopping of
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commercial motor carrier vehicles or] establishing ports of
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0020| entry [and roadblocks] for the purpose of checking motor
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0021| carriers and includes similar activities;
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0022| K. "fleet" means one or more motor carrier
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0023| vehicles, either commercial or noncommercial but not mixed,
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0024| that are operated in this and at least one other jurisdiction;
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0025| L. "freight trailer" means any trailer,
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0001| semitrailer or pole trailer drawn by a truck tractor or road
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0002| tractor and any trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer drawn by
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0003| a truck that has a gross vehicle weight of more than twenty-
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0004| six thousand pounds, but the term does not include house
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0005| trailers, trailers of less than one-ton carrying capacity used
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0006| to transport animals or fertilizer trailers of less than three
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0007| thousand five hundred pounds empty weight;
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0008| M. "gross vehicle weight" means the weight of a
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0009| vehicle without load plus the weight of any load thereon;
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0010| N. "motor carrier" means any person or firm that
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0011| owns, controls, operates or manages any motor vehicle with a
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0012| gross vehicle weight of twelve thousand pounds or more that is
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0013| used to transport persons or property on the public highways
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0014| of this state;
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0015| O. "motor vehicle" means any vehicle or device
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0016| that is propelled by an internal combustion engine or electric
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0017| motor power that is used or may be used on the public highways
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0018| for the purpose of transporting persons or property and
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0019| includes any connected trailer or semitrailer;
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0020| P. "one-way rental fleet" means two or more
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0021| vehicles each having a gross vehicle weight of under twenty-
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0022| six thousand one pounds and rented to the public without a
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0023| driver;
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0024| Q. "person" means any individual, estate, trust,
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0025| receiver, cooperative association, club, corporation, company,
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0001| firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate or other
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0002| association; "person" also means, to the extent permitted by
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0003| law, any federal, state or other governmental unit or
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0004| subdivision or an agency, department or instrumentality
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0005| thereof; "person" also includes an officer or employee of a
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0006| corporation, a member or employee of a partnership or any
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0007| individual who, as such, is under a duty to perform any act in
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0008| respect of which a violation occurs;
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0009| R. "preceding year" means a period of twelve
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0010| consecutive months fixed by the department, which period is
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0011| within the sixteen months immediately preceding the
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0012| commencement of the registration or license year for which
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0013| proportional registration is sought. The department, in
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0014| fixing that period, shall make it conform to the terms,
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0015| conditions and requirements of any applicable agreement or
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0016| arrangement for the proportional registration of vehicles;
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0017| S. "properly registered" means bearing the
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0018| lawfully issued and currently valid evidence of registration
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0019| of this or another jurisdiction, regardless of the owner's
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0020| residence, except in those cases where the evidence has been
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0021| procured by misrepresentation or fraud;
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0022| T. "public highway" means every way or place
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0023| generally open to the use of the public as a matter of right
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0024| for the purpose of vehicular travel, even though it may be
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0025| temporarily closed or restricted for the purpose of
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0001| construction, maintenance, repair or reconstruction;
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0002| U. "secretary" means the secretary of taxation and
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0003| revenue and, except for the purposes of [Sections 65-1-10
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and] Section 65-1-33 NMSA 1978, also includes the deputy
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0005| secretary and any division director delegated by the
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0006| secretary;
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0007| V. "state" or "jurisdiction" means a state,
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0008| territory or possession of the United States, the District of
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0009| Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a foreign country
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0010| or a state or province of a foreign country; and
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0011| W. "utility trailer" means any trailer,
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0012| semitrailer or pole trailer and includes house trailers that
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0013| exceed neither eight feet in width nor forty feet in length,
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0014| but does not include freight trailers, trailers of less than
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0015| one-ton carrying capacity used to transport animals or
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0016| fertilizer trailers of less than three thousand five hundred
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0017| pounds empty weight."
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0018| Section 2. Section 65-1-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967,
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0019| Chapter 97, Section 8, as amended) is amended to read:
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0020| "65-1-6. FIELD [ENFORCEMENT OF] INSPECTION PURSUANT
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0021| TO THE MOTOR CARRIER ACT AND [REGULATIONS] RULES.--The
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0022| department has the authority to:
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0023| A. [enforce] perform inspections in the field
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0024| pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Carrier Act and the
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0025| [regulations] rules promulgated by the state corporation
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0001| commission pursuant to that act; and
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0002| B. maintain sufficient personnel in the field to
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0003| [enforce] perform inspections pursuant to the provisions
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0004| of the Motor Carrier Act and the [regulations] rules
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0005| promulgated by the state corporation commission pursuant to
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0006| that act."
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0007| Section 3. Section 65-1-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967,
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0008| Chapter 97, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:
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0009| "65-1-9. DEPARTMENT TO ENFORCE LAWS.--The department
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0010| shall enforce and collect all excise taxes, license fees and
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0011| other fees and charges of every nature and perform all
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0012| inspections and collect all information considered necessary
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0013| to enforce the laws [of all departments, commissions and
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other agencies of state government, in addition to those]
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0015| specifically assigned [by law] to the department.
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0016| [whenever the department is so requested and agrees and the
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agreement is in writing containing all reasonable detail
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concerning the responsibilities of the parties to the
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agreement.] The department shall also assist, as far as
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0020| practicable and in accordance with a proper written agreement,
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0021| in the enforcement of statutory, administrative and judicial
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0022| provisions of the federal Motor Carrier Act. [Enforcement
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employees of the department shall be considered to have the
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same powers as the enforcement officers of the department,
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commission or other agency having the primary
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responsibility.]"
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0002| Section 4. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL,
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0003| PROPERTY, CONTRACTS AND REFERENCES IN LAW.--On the effective
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0004| date of this act:
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0005| A. all personnel of the taxation and revenue
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0006| department who are certified law enforcement officers pursuant
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0007| to the provisions of the Law Enforcement Training Act and who
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0008| are charged primarily with enforcement of the Motor
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0009| Transportation Act, the Motor Carrier Act or other laws or
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0010| rules relating to motor carriers are transferred to the
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0011| department of public safety;
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0012| B. all appropriations, money, records, property,
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0013| equipment and supplies of the taxation and revenue department
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0014| and primarily associated with the personnel described in
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0015| Subsection A of this section are transferred to the department
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0016| of public safety;
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0017| C. all contracts and agreements of the taxation
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0018| and revenue department relating to the activities of the
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0019| personnel described in Subsection A of this section are
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0020| transferred to the department of public safety; and
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0021| D. all references in law to law enforcement powers
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0022| of the taxation and revenue department pursuant to the Motor
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0023| Transportation Act or the Motor Carrier Act shall be deemed to
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0024| be references to the powers of the department of public
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0025| safety.
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0001| Section 5. REPEAL.--Section 65-1-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
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0002| 1967, Chapter 97, Section 9, as amended) is repealed.
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0003| Section 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
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0004| provisions of this act is July 1, 1998.
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0005|
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