2019 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 59A - Insurance Code
Article 53 - Fire Protection Fund
Section 59A-53-10 - Interest in land for fire stations or substations.

Money distributed from the fire protection fund to a municipality or to a county fire district may be expended or obligated for the construction of buildings for fire stations or substations only if:

A. the municipality or county fire district proposing to expend or obligate for that purpose holds fee simple title, not encumbered by any lien, to the land on which it proposes to construct the building; or

B. the land is donated in whole or in part to the municipality or county fire district for the purpose, and use of fire protection fund money for the construction or location, where the donor has reserved right of reversion of the land under stated conditions, if the use of money is approved by the marshal in advance and after full investigation and determination that the use would be appropriate and reasonable.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 981; 1989, ch. 312, § 10; 2012, ch. 20, § 11; 2019, ch. 55, § 2.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, removed a provision prohibiting fire protection funds from being awarded to entities having outstanding obligations associated with prior fire protection fund awards; in the section heading, deleted "Purchase of" and added "Interest in", and deleted "or buildings" and added "for fire stations or substations"; in the introductory paragraph, deleted "shall be expended or obligated for the purchase of land or the construction of buildings for fire stations or substations unless all obligations previously incurred for those purposes and to be paid from money distributed from the fire protection fund by the municipality or county fire district have been fully paid and satisfied; and no amount shall" and added "may", and after "substations", deleted "unless" and added "only if"; in Subsection A, after "for that purpose", deleted "money distributed from the fire protection fund", after "the building", deleted "provided, however, that this provision shall not prohibit construction or location of a fire station or substation on", and added "or"; and added subsection designation "B."

The 2012 amendment, effective May 16, 2012, incorporated the defined term "municipality" and corrected an error regarding the payment of obligations by county fire districts; substituted the defined term "municipality" for "incorporated cities, towns and villages" throughout the section; and after "fire protection fund by the municipality or", added "county fire".

Fee simple title. — Recipient of fire protection fund moneys must have fee simple title, unencumbered, before the moneys can be used to construct buildings. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-30.

County to hold title to land for fire stations. — It is the county, and not the independent fire district, which must hold clear title to the land on which fire stations are to be constructed. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-35.