2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 59A - Insurance Code
Article 53 - Fire Protection Fund
Section 59A-53-8 - Expenditure of fire protection fund money.
Any amount distributed from the fire protection fund to a municipality or to a county fire district shall be expended only for the maintenance of its fire department; the purchase, construction, maintenance, repair and operation of its fire stations, including substations; fire apparatus and equipment and the financing or refinancing thereof; the payment of insurance premiums on fire stations, substations, fire apparatus and equipment and insurance premiums for injuries or deaths of firefighters as otherwise provided by law; and fire department emergency medical services, except salaries. Provided, however, that no money shall be expended from the fund for any purpose relating to the water supply systems of a municipality or county fire district or for the improvement or construction of the systems or for purchase, rental, installation or maintenance of fire hydrants or for any other appurtenances relating to the distribution or use of the water supply system. Funds distributed from the fire protection fund to an incorporated municipality or a county fire district may also be expended for the expense of firefighters for attending fire schools and conventions approved by the marshal.
History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 979; 1989, ch. 312, § 8; 1994, ch. 53, § 3; 2011, ch. 162, § 1; 2012, ch. 20, § 9.
The 2012 amendment, effective May 16, 2012, prohibited the expenditure of funds for water supply systems of county fire districts; in the first sentence, after "fire protection fund to", deleted "an incorporated" and added "a"; in the second sentence, after "water supply systems of", deleted "any incorporated" and added "a"; and after "water supply systems of a municipality or", added "county fire".
The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, authorized the use of the fire protection fund for emergency medical services.
The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, in the first sentence, inserted "and the financing or refinancing thereof", and substituted "stations, substations" for "station, substation" and substituted "deaths" for "death".
Fire protection funds cannot be used for salaries for "firemen" as such. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-30.
Payment of employees. — Where a person is employed to maintain, repair or operate fire department or its equipment, his payment from moneys distributed from the fire protection fund is within the purview of this section. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-30.
Repair of leased property. — Under former Section 59-15-9 NMSA 1978 it was permissible to "repair" leased property, but to "reconstruct" it would do violence to the authority given by the statute. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-30.
Rental payments. — In view of the strict language used by the legislature, recipients of fire protection fund money cannot legally expend such money for rental payments on leased property. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-30.
Fire protection funds may not be expended for drilling water well to supplement the village water supply if the well is connected to such system only for the purpose of assuring sufficient water for fighting fires. 1961-62 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 62-95.
Funds available for drilling water wells. — Under the provisions of former Section 59-15-9 NMSA 1978 a village was not precluded from drilling water wells or in otherwise obtaining water essential for fire protection purposes where the funds utilized for such expenditures were obtained from other sources; limitation contained in former Section 59-15-9 NMSA 1978 had application only insofar as it restricted the use of fire protection funds for such purposes. 1961-62 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 62-95.
