2023 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 29 - Law Enforcement
Article 7 - Law Enforcement Training
Section 29-7-3 - New Mexico law enforcement standards and training council.
A. The "New Mexico law enforcement standards and training council" is created and is administratively attached to the New Mexico law enforcement academy of the department of public safety, which shall provide staff support for the council.
B. The council shall develop and promulgate training requirements, curricula and methods; professional development programs; and performance standards for law enforcement officers and public safety telecommunicators at all levels, including basic, field training officer programs, advanced, specialized and instructor training to be consistent throughout New Mexico.
C. The council consists of:
(1) the director of the academy and the directors of the accredited regional law enforcement training facilities, who serve ex officio; and
(2) eleven members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, consisting of:
(a) one attorney employed in a district attorney's office;
(b) one attorney employed by the public defender department;
(c) one certified police chief of a New Mexico Indian nation, tribe or pueblo;
(d) two New Mexico state-certified public safety telecommunicators, one of whom shall be from an agency that offers fire and medical telecommunications services and one of whom shall be from a public safety agency serving a rural part of the state;
(e) two members who have experience and specialize in providing adult education;
(f) two citizen-at-large members, one of whom has behavioral health expertise and neither of whom is an active or retired law enforcement officer or public safety telecommunicator or has a familial or financial connection to an active or retired law enforcement officer or public safety telecommunicator or any agency or department for which a law enforcement officer or public safety telecommunicator works;
(g) a sheriff who is a New Mexico state-certified law enforcement officer; and
(h) a municipal law enforcement manager who is a New Mexico-state certified law enforcement officer in a command position.
D. An appointed council member shall serve and have all the duties, responsibilities and authority of that office during the period prior to the final action by the senate in confirming or rejecting the appointments. Vacancies on the council shall be filled by appointment by the governor with the consent of the senate for the remainder of the unexpired term.
E. Appointments to the council shall be for staggered terms of four years or less made in such manner that the terms of not more than four members expire on July 1 of each year.
F. Members of the council are entitled to receive, for their service as members of the council, per diem and mileage as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978].
History: 1978 Comp., § 29-7-3, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 202, § 42; 1983, ch. 121, § 1; 1993, ch. 250, § 1; 1993, ch. 255, § 2; 1994, ch. 39, § 1; 2015, ch. 3, § 22; 2003, ch. 260, § 5; 2022, ch. 56, § 4; 2023, ch. 86, § 2.
ANNOTATIONSRepeals and reenactments. — Laws 1977, ch. 257, § 51 repealed a former 39-6-3, 1953 Comp., relating to the academy board, and enacted a new 39-6-3, 1953 Comp. (29-7-3 NMSA 1978).
Laws 1979, ch. 202, § 42 repealed former 29-7-3 NMSA 1978, relating to the control and management of the law enforcement academy, and enacted a new 29-7-3 NMSA 1978.
The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, required the department of public safety to provide staff support for the New Mexico law enforcement standards and training council, revised the duties and responsibilities of the law enforcement standards and training council, and revised the required composition of the law enforcement standards and training council; in Subsection A, deleted "There is created", and after "council", added "is created and is administratively attached to the New Mexico law enforcement academy of the department of public safety, which shall provide staff support for the council"; in Subsection B, after "develop and", deleted "adopt basic training and in-service training standards for police officers and telecommunicators in New Mexico" and added "promulgate training requirements, curricula and methods; professional development programs; and performance standards for law enforcement officers and public safety telecommunicators at all levels, including basic, field training officer programs, advanced, specialized and instructor training to be consistent throughout New Mexico"; in Subsection C, Paragraph C(1), after "director of the", deleted "New Mexico law enforcement", after "directors of the", deleted "satellites" and added "accredited regional", after "law enforcement", deleted "academies, who shall serve automatically by reason of their position. The remaining seven" and added "training facilities, who serve ex officio; and", in Paragraph C(2), in the introductory clause, added "eleven", after "confirmed by the senate", deleted "An appointed council member shall serve and have all of the duties, responsibilities and authority of that office during the period prior to the final action by the senate in confirming or rejecting the appointment. The members appointed by the governor shall consist" and added "consisting", and added Subparagraph C(2)(d), in Subparagraph C(2)(f), after "neither of whom", deleted "shall be a police officer or retired police officer" and added "is an active or retired law enforcement officer or public safety telecommunicator", after the next two occurrences of "retired law enforcement officer", added "or public safety telecommunicator", added Subparagraphs C(2)(g) and C(2)(h); added new Subsection D and redesignated former Subsections D and E as Subsections E and F, respectively; and in Subsection E, after "not more than", deleted "two" and added "four".
Temporary provisions. — Laws 2023, ch. 86, § 15 provided that the rules of the New Mexico law enforcement academy board shall continue in effect until amended or repealed by the New Mexico law enforcement standards and training council or the law enforcement certification board, as applicable.
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, revised duties and responsibilities of the council, and revised the qualifications and terms for membership in the council; in the section heading, deleted "academy board" and added "standards and training council"; in Subsection A, after "New Mexico law enforcement", deleted "academy board" and added "standards and training council"; deleted former Subsection B, added new Subsections B and C and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections D and E, respectively; in Subsection D, after "Appointments to the", deleted "board" and added "council", and deleted "At all times, the board shall have represented on it, as members, one municipal police chief, one sheriff, one state police officer, one attorney who is currently employed in a district attorney's office, one certified police chief of a New Mexico Indian tribe or pueblo, one certified New Mexico police officer holding the rank of sergeant or below and two citizen-at-large members, neither of whom shall be a police officer or retired police officer or have familial or financial connections to a police officer or any agency or department for which a police officer works. Vacancies shall be filled by the governor for the unexpired term."; and in Subsection E, substituted each occurrence of "board" with "council".
The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, provided for the reorganization of the department of public safety by amending the qualifications for the composition of the New Mexico law enforcement academy board; in Subsection B, after "reason of", deleted "his", after "serve as", deleted "chairman" and added "chair", and after "of the board, and", deleted "six" and added "eight"; in Subsection C, deleted "On or before July 1, 1994, the governor shall increase the number of members on the board to eight by appointing two additional members. The seventh member of the board shall be a citizen at-large member whose term shall end on July 1, 1996. The eighth member of the board shall be a police officer who is a New Mexico certified police officer, holding the rank of sergeant or below at the time of his appointment, and whose term shall end on July 1, 1996 or sooner if he retires or is deactivated from duty for longer than thirty days.", after "police officer, one", deleted "district", after "attorney", added "who is currently employed in a district attorney's office", and after "citizen-at-large members", added the remainder of the sentence.
The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, deleted "not later than July 1, 1983" following "governor" in the second sentence in Subsection B; and, in Subsection C, substituted the first three sentences for the former first three sentences, relating to appointment of the first board members, and substituted "Appointments to the board" for "Thereafter, all appointments" in the fourth sentence and "one certified New Mexico police officer holding the rank of sergeant or below and two citizen-at-large members" for "and one citizen-at-large member" in the next-to-last sentence.
The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, substituted "academy" for "New Mexico law enforcement academy" in the first sentence of Subsection B.
