2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 6 - Public Finances › Article 24 - New Mexico Lottery › Section 6-24-5 - New Mexico lottery authority created.

A. There is created a public body, politic and corporate, separate and apart from the state, constituting a governmental instrumentality to be known as the "New Mexico lottery authority". The authority is created and organized for the purpose of establishing and conducting the New Mexico state lottery to provide revenues for the public purposes designated by the New Mexico Lottery Act.
B. The authority shall be governed by a board of directors composed of seven members who are residents of New Mexico appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. The members of the board of directors shall be prominent persons in their businesses or professions and shall be appointed so as to provide equitable geographical representation. No more than four members of the board shall be from any one political party. The governor shall consider appointing at least one member who has at least five years experience as a law enforcement officer, at least one member who is an attorney admitted to practice in New Mexico and at least one member who is a certified public accountant certified in New Mexico.
C. Board members shall be appointed for five-year terms. To provide for staggered terms, four of the initially appointed members shall be appointed for terms of five years and three members for terms of three years. Thereafter, all members shall be appointed for five-year terms. A vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor for the remainder of the unexpired term. A member shall serve until his replacement is confirmed by the senate. Board members shall be eligible for reappointment.
D. The board shall select one of its members as chairman annually. A chairman may be selected for successive years. Members of the board may be removed by the governor for malfeasance, misfeasance or willful neglect of duty after reasonable notice and a public hearing unless the notice and hearing are expressly waived in writing by the member.
E. The board shall hold regular meetings at the call of the chairman, but not less often than once each calendar quarter. A board meeting may also be called upon the request in writing of three or more board members. A majority of members then in office constitutes a quorum for the transaction of any business and for the exercise of any power or function of the authority.
F. Board members shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be paid expenses incurred in the conduct of authority business as allowed and approved by the authority in accordance with policies adopted by the board.
G. A board member shall be subject to a background check and investigation to determine his fitness for office. The results of that background check shall be made available to the governor and the senate.
History:
Laws 1995, ch. 155, § 5.
ANNOTATIONS
Lottery's powers.
— The legislature made its intent clear that the lottery is a governmental instrumentality, empowered with the authority to maneuver in a corporate environment to accomplish its public purpose of financing the tuition fund.
Stansell v. N.M. Lottery
, 2009-NMCA-062, 146 N.M. 417, 211 P.3d 214.
The New Mexico lottery is not a person
under the Unfair Practices Act, Section 57-12-1 NMSA 1978.
Stansell v. N.M. Lottery
, 2009-NMCA-062, 146 N.M. 417, 211 P.3d 214.