2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles › Article 5 - Licensing of Operators and Chauffeurs; Financial Responsibility; Uninsured Motorists' Insurance; Identification Cards › Part 1 - OPERATORS' AND CHAUFFEURS' LICENSES › Section 66-5-26 - Suspending resident's license; automatic reinstatement without fee.

A. The division is authorized to suspend or revoke the license of a resident of this state or the privilege of a nonresident to drive a motor vehicle in this state upon receiving notice of the conviction of such person in another state or by a tribe of an offense that if committed within the jurisdiction of this state, would be grounds for the suspension or revocation of the license of a driver.
B. A person whose driver's license was suspended solely for nonpayment or failure to appear and who is otherwise eligible to drive shall have the person's driver's license reinstated and shall not be required to pay a reinstatement fee. No later than September 1, 2023, the division shall, without requiring a reinstatement fee, reinstate the driver's license or nonresident operating privilege of every person whose license or nonresident operating privilege is suspended solely for nonpayment or failure to appear and who is otherwise eligible to drive.
History:
1953 Comp., § 64-5-26, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 248; 1981, ch. 360, § 4; 2003, ch. 164, § 7; 2023, ch. 8, § 1.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For the Driver License Compact,
see
66-5-49 NMSA 1978.
The 2023 amendment,
effective June 16, 2023, removed a provision authorizing the motor vehicle division to suspend the driver's license of a resident of this state, or the privilege of a nonresident to drive a motor vehicle in this state, for failure to appear or pay a penalty assessment imposed by a tribe or imposed in another state that is a signatory of the Nonresident Violator Compact with New Mexico, and provided that a person whose driver's license was suspended solely for nonpayment or failure to appear and who is otherwise eligible to drive shall have the person's driver's license reinstated and shall not be required to pay a reinstatement fee; in the section heading, after "license", deleted "conviction failure to appear; failure to appear; failure to pay in another state or tribal jurisdiction", and added "automatic reinstatement without fee"; and deleted former Subsection B and added a new Subsection B.
The 2003 amendment,
effective July 1, 2003, added "or tribal jurisdiction" in the section heading; substituted "or by a tribe of an offense that if committed within the jurisdiction" for "of an offense therein which if committed in" following "in another state" in Subsection A; and substituted "imposed by a tribe or imposed in another state that" for "in another state which" following "a penalty assessment" in Subsection B.
"Is authorized"
means that suspension or revocation of a driver's license for a conviction in another state is discretionary with the department. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-51.
Indian reservation not "another state".
— By use of the term "another state," the legislature has equated the word "state" to that political status occupied by the state of New Mexico. If an Indian reservation is not a "state," then the division cannot revoke or suspend a license under Section 64-13-57, 1953 Comp. (similar to this section), even though the tribal court sends a record of a conviction to the division. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 62-06.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references.
— 7A Am. Jur. 2d Automobiles and Highway Traffic § 135.
Automobiles: Necessity or emergency as defense in prosecution for driving without operator's license or while license is suspended, 7 A.L.R.5th 73.
60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 164.8.