2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 65 - Motor Carriers › Article 2A - Motor Carrier Act › Section 65-2A-33 - Criminal and civil penalties; unfair trade practices. (Effective July 1, 2024.)

A. A person who knowingly makes a false statement of material fact under oath or penalty of perjury in a department proceeding, whether orally or in writing, shall be guilty of perjury.
B. A person who willfully makes a false return of process or report to the department or an employee of the department, and a person who knowingly aids or abets a person who willfully makes a false return of process or report to the department or an employee of the department, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
C. A person who willfully makes a false entry in records required by the Motor Carrier Act or the rules of the department, willfully destroys, mutilates or by other means willfully falsifies the records or willfully neglects or fails to make full, true and correct entries of all facts, shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
D. An employee of the department who divulges information about an inspection, examination or investigation of a record or of the property and facilities of a motor carrier, except insofar as may be authorized by the department or a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
E. A person who violates or who procures, aids or abets in the violation of a provision of the Motor Carrier Act or a rule or order of the department shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), imprisoned for not more than ninety days, or both.
F. A motor carrier shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500), imprisoned for not more than six months, or both, if the motor carrier:
(1) refuses to permit examination of its records;
(2) conceals, destroys or mutilates its records;
(3) attempts to conceal, destroy or mutilate its records; or
(4) removes its records beyond the limits of the state for the purpose of preventing examination.
G. A person who commits weight-bumping shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
H. A person shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each violation and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each subsequent violation if the person knowingly engages in or authorizes an agent or other person to:
(1) falsify the documents used in the transportation of household goods that evidence the weight of shipment; or
(2) charge for accessorial services that are not performed, or for which the carrier is not entitled to be compensated, in a case in which such services are not reasonably necessary for the safe and adequate transportation of the shipment.
I. A law enforcement officer of the state shall arrest and the district attorney and attorney general shall prosecute a violation of the Motor Carrier Act.
J. It is an unfair and deceptive trade practice under the Unfair Practices Act [Chapter 57, Article 12 NMSA 1978] for any transportation service carrier to offer or provide transportation services of a type for which, or in any territory in which, it is not authorized to do so by the department. The attorney general or a person who has been damaged or who is likely to be damaged as the result of such unauthorized service, including a shipper, a passenger or an authorized transportation service carrier, may bring an action pursuant to the Unfair Practices Act against the transportation service carrier regarding such unauthorized service. Any such civil action shall be in addition to, and shall not bar, any investigation or civil or criminal enforcement action regarding the unauthorized service available to the attorney general or a district attorney, or available to the department under the Motor Carrier Act.
K. It is an unfair and deceptive trade practice under the Unfair Practices Act for any transportation service carrier or its agent, employee or contract driver to charge or collect a predatory rate or to undertake a predatory practice in the provision of transportation services. The attorney general or a person who has been damaged or who is likely to be damaged as the result of a predatory rate or practice may bring an action pursuant to the Unfair Practices Act against the transportation service carrier regarding the predatory rate or practice. Any civil action shall be in addition to, and shall not bar, any investigation or civil or criminal enforcement action regarding the predatory rate or practice available to the attorney general or a district attorney, or available to the department under the Motor Carrier Act.
History:
Laws 2003, ch. 359, § 33; 2013, ch. 73, § 29; 2013, ch. 77, § 29; 2023, ch. 100, § 59.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2023 amendment,
effective July 1, 2024, removed references to the public regulation commission due to the transfer of certain powers and duties to the department of transportation; and changed each occurrence of "commission" to "department" throughout the section.