2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 73 - Special Districts
Article 20 - Soil and Water and Watershed Conservation Districts
Section 73-20-12 - Directors; election.

A. At the next regular local election held pursuant to the Local Election Act [Chapter 1, Article 22 NMSA 1978] after a watershed district is created, the board of supervisors of the soil and water conservation district involved shall cause an election to be held for the election of a board of directors of the watershed district. The board shall consist of five members. The first board shall determine by lot from among its membership two members to serve terms of two years and three members to serve terms of four years. Thereafter, as these initial terms expire, their replacements shall be elected for terms of four years. Vacancies occurring before the expiration of a term shall be filled by the remaining members of the board for the unexpired term. Two or more vacancies occurring simultaneously shall be filled by appointment by the board of supervisors. The board of directors shall, under the supervision of the board of supervisors, be the governing body of the watershed district.

B. If the territory embraced within a watershed district lies within more than one soil and water conservation district, each additional soil and water conservation district having a minority of the land involved in the watershed shall be entitled to elect three additional directors. These additional directors after their election shall determine by lot one of their number to serve a term of two years and two a term of four years. Thereafter, their successors shall be elected for terms of four years. The representatives of each of these minority districts shall fill vacancies in the district's membership for the unexpired term.

C. The board of directors shall annually elect from its membership a chair, secretary and treasurer. The treasurer shall execute an official bond for the faithful performance of the duties of office to be approved by the board of directors. The bond shall be executed with at least three solvent personal sureties whose solvency shall exceed the amount of the bond, or by a surety company authorized to do business in this state, and shall be in an amount determined by the board of directors. If the treasurer is required to execute a surety company bond, the premium of the bond shall be paid by the board of directors.

D. The board of directors shall prepare and submit to the department of finance and administration such reports as it may require from among those required to be submitted by other political subdivisions.

E. Each person desiring to be a director of a watershed district shall file a nominating petition with the proper filing office in accordance with the provisions of the Local Election Act, signed by ten or more qualified electors.

History: 1953 Comp., § 45-5-30, enacted by Laws 1957, ch. 210, § 12; 1973, ch. 332, § 6; 1977, ch. 254, § 50; 2003, ch. 228, § 4; 2018, ch. 79, § 163; 2019, ch. 212, § 254.

Repeals. — Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 284(B) repealed Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 163 effective April 3, 2019. Laws 2018, ch. 79, § 163 would have become effective July 1, 2022.

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2019, ch. 212, § 278 provided that:

A. The term of a branch community college district, special hospital district, solid waste authority district, lower Rio Grande public water works authority or watershed district board member that was set to expire on or before June 30, 2020 shall expire on December 31, 2019, and that member's successor shall be elected in the regular local election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2019 for a term beginning on January 1, 2020.

B. The term of a branch community college district, special hospital district, solid waste authority district, lower Rio Grande public water works authority or watershed district board member that was set to expire on or after July 1, 2020 but on or before June 30, 2022 shall expire on December 31, 2021, and that member's successor shall be elected in the local election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2021 for a term beginning on January 1, 2022.

C. The term of a special hospital district or watershed district board member that was set to expire on or after July 1, 2022 shall expire on December 31, 2023, and that member's successor shall be elected in the local election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2023 for a term beginning on January 1, 2024.

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, revised the timing for holding an election for the board of directors of a watershed district, revised the length of terms for certain directors, and revised the requirements of a director nominating petition; in Subsection A, after the subsection designation, deleted "Within thirty days" and added "At the next regular local election held pursuant to the Local Election Act", and after "terms of two years", deleted "two" and added "and three", after "serve terms", deleted "of three years and one member to serve a term"; in Subsection B, after "term of two years", deleted "one a term of three years", after "and", deleted "one" and added "two"; in Subsection E, after "nominating petition with the", deleted "board of supervisors" and added "proper filing office in accordance with the provisions of the Local Election Act", after "signed by ten or more", deleted "landowners within the watershed districts of the county involved, or, if less than fifty landowners are involved, a majority of such landowners. If the candidates nominated do not exceed the positions available, they shall be declared elected. No person shall be eligible to be a director of a watershed district who is not a landowner in the district in which he seeks election" and added "qualified electors".

The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, in Subsection A, deleted "or districts" following "water conservation district", inserted the sixth sentence; substituted "the district's" for "its" near the end of Subsection B; substituted "shall" for "must" preceding "exceed the amount" in Subsection C.

Authority to cause election to be held. — Laws 1957, ch. 210, § 12(e) (Subsection E of this section) does not provide for the possibility that more candidates could be nominated than there are positions available. Under the act, the board of supervisors of the soil conservation district (or districts) involved has the authority to cause an election to be held for the election of a board of directors of the watershed district. The board of supervisors must comply with the procedure set up by the act in all cases where there is a specific provision which can be followed. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 57-116.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 45 Am. Jur. 2d Irrigation § 61.

94 C.J.S. Waters § 320.