2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 4 - Counties
Article 44 - Salaries and Provisions Applicable to More Than One Office
Section 4-44-18 - Sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and guards; expenses incurred in serving process and certain other official business; per diem.

A. Sheriffs, their deputies and guards shall be paid per diem expenses at the rate authorized in the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978] by the counties on behalf of which expenses are incurred in:

(1) service of criminal process issued out of the supreme court or district court;

(2) service of criminal process issued out of a magistrate court when the issuance is approved in writing by the district attorney or his assistants;

(3) service of civil process issued by the district court; and

(4) attempting to discover or arrest a person charged with a felony if written authorization is obtained from the district judge.

B. Expenses authorized pursuant to this section shall be paid on the rendition of sworn accounts filed in the county clerk's office and approved by the board of county commissioners and the district judge.

C. Sheriffs, their deputies and guards shall be paid per diem and mileage expenses at the rate authorized in the Per Diem and Mileage Act for extraditing prisoners from without the state and for transporting persons committed by a court to a state institution or required to be returned by order of the court from a state institution to the county of commitment. Subject to appropriation by the legislature, the county shall be reimbursed by the state for the per diem, costs for mileage and other necessary travel expenses incurred pursuant to this subsection by submitting claims for reimbursement to the department of finance and administration in accordance with the department's regulations. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a single county shall not receive more than fifty percent of the total amount of money allocated to all counties as reimbursement.

History: 1953 Comp., § 15-43-11.1, enacted by Laws 1961, ch. 253, § 4; 1973, ch. 364, § 1; 2003, ch. 219, § 1.

Cross references. — For reimbursement of peace officers and constables for mileage traveled by privately owned conveyances in serving judicial process, see 4-41-19 NMSA 1978.

For reimbursement of sheriffs, deputy sheriffs or other county peace officers utilizing public transportation in performance of official business, see 4-41-20 NMSA 1978.

For charges for service of more than one subpoena or summons, see 4-41-21 NMSA 1978.

For collection and disposition of fees, commissions, mileage and per diem, see 4-44-28, 4-44-29 NMSA 1978.

The 2003 amendment, effective July 1, 2003, in Subsection B substituted "pursuant to" for "under" following "authorized" near the beginning and inserted "board of" following "approved by the" near the end; in Subsection C, substituted "Subject to appropriation by the legislature, the" for "The" at the beginning of the second sentence, deleted "seventy-five percent of" following "the state for" near the beginning of the second sentence, inserted "and other necessary travel" preceding "expenses incurred" near the middle, and inserted "Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a single county shall not receive more than fifty percent of the total amount of money allocated to all counties as reimbursements." at the end.

Order of the district court directing the sheriff to bring back a person from the penitentiary so that he can be a witness cannot be classified as the service of criminal or civil process for purposes of this section. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-34.

Transportation of prisoners housed at a county jail or other detention facility is not the exclusive responsibility of the local sheriff's department; jail administrators and independent contractors may also transport inmates at their facilities. 2000 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 00-02.

County commission may force a county sheriff to use a county car to transport a person charged with a crime or with escaping from confinement from another state back to New Mexico. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-244.

If the sheriff has expended his own money in payment for the guard's authorized expenses, those expenses would therefore be legal expenses of the sheriff for which he could properly be reimbursed. 1961 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 61-09.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 70 Am. Jur. 2d Sheriffs, Police, and Constables § 89.

80 C.J.S. Sheriffs and Constables §§ 495, 498 to 500.