46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

RELATING TO HIGHWAYS; AMENDING THE HIGHWAY BEAUTIFICATION ACT TO ALLOW COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES TO ACQUIRE OUTDOOR ADVERTISING.

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

Section 1. Section 67-12-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1966, Chapter 65, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

"67-12-6. OUTDOOR ADVERTISING--ACQUISITION--COMPENSATION--REMOVAL.--

A. The commission or a county or municipality may acquire by agreement or condemnation all outdoor advertising and property rights pertaining thereto. The commission or a county or municipality may [so] remove the outdoor advertising if at the time of the acquisition:

(1) the outdoor advertising bears the requisite permit, if any;

(2) the owner of the outdoor advertising has timely paid all permit fees, past and present, if any, required in connection with the erection and maintenance thereof;

(3) the outdoor advertising conforms with standards, specifications and requirements contained in regulations promulgated by the commission; and

(4) the outdoor advertising was lawfully in existence on the effective date of the Highway Beautification Act and has continued to so exist, or was lawfully erected subsequent to the effective date. For the purpose of this paragraph, any outdoor advertising in existence on or after November 6, 1978 that was erected prior to November 18, 1971 under any permit or conditional permit issued by the state highway and transportation department shall be considered to be lawfully erected. For all purposes, the effective date of the [New Mexico] Highway Beautification Act shall be March 15, 1971.

The condemnation shall be exercised by eminent domain in the manner provided by law, and each interested party shall have the right to a separate trial as to the respective interests involved.

B. [Whenever] When outdoor advertising and property rights pertaining thereto are acquired by the commission or a county or municipality pursuant to Subsection A of this section:

(1) the owner of the outdoor advertising shall be paid just compensation by the commission or a county or municipality equal to the fair market value of the outdoor advertising [which] that is to be deemed a trade fixture; and

(2) the owner of the land upon which the outdoor advertising is located shall be paid just compensation equal to the value of his right to have the outdoor advertising erected and maintained on the land.

C. The right to compensation as provided in Subsection B of this section shall not be affected solely by the failure of [any] the outdoor advertising to conform to standards, specifications and requirements contained in regulations promulgated by the commission relating to [any] a subject other than permits or permit fees unless the commission has given notice by certified mail to the owner of the land upon which the outdoor advertising is located, and to the owner of the outdoor advertising if his name appears thereon, advising of the failure to conform and ordering that the outdoor advertising be made to [so] conform or be removed within thirty days from the date of [such] the notice. If the failure to conform is corrected within the thirty days, then the failure to conform shall be deemed cured for all purposes; if, however, the defect is not corrected within the thirty days, the commission or a county or municipality may thereafter remove the outdoor advertising at the expense of the owner of the outdoor advertising without [any] compensation [whatsoever]. This subsection specifically does not apply [in any manner] to permit fees, and [no] notice [whatsoever] shall not be required in connection with the permit fees.

D. Compensation shall not include [any] an element of damages [which] that is not subject to federal aid participation under the federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965, as has been or may be hereafter amended or superseded, or otherwise.

E. [In any case where] When outdoor advertising has been removed under the Highway Beautification Act, and the removal is compensable under that act, but the commission or the county or municipality has not paid just compensation or instituted condemnation proceedings therefor, the owner of the outdoor advertising, or the owner of the land upon which it is located, or both, may bring actions against the commission or the county or municipality as provided in Section [42-1-23] 42A-1-29 NMSA 1978, for recovery of [such] the compensation.

F. [All] Outdoor advertising other than that meeting [all] the requirements of Subsection A of this section is declared to be a public nuisance and in contravention of law. [Therefore and otherwise] The commission or a county or municipality may remove or cause the removal of [all] outdoor advertising other than that meeting [all] the requirements of Subsection A of this section, [which] and the removal shall be without [any] compensation [whatsoever] and at the expense of the owner of the outdoor advertising.

G. Removal of outdoor advertising by or at the request of the commission, a county or a municipality or its agents or employees in compliance with the Highway Beautification Act does not subject [such] the removal or the persons performing it to criminal prosecution or give rise to [any] liability to [any] a person or entity for the injury, loss or destruction of [any] property [which] that occurs in connection with the removal."