Headings and titles may not be used in construing a statute or rule unless they are contained in the enrolled and engrossed bill or rule as adopted.
History: Laws 1997, ch. 173, § 13.
ANNOTATIONSEffective dates. — Laws 1997, ch. 173 § 22 made the Uniform Statute and Rule Construction Act effective July 1, 1997.
Legislative intent. — While a statutory heading cannot be used to produce ambiguity in a statute that is otherwise clearly drafted, a legislatively drafted section heading may be useful in determining legislative intent. Serrano v. State, Dep't of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 1992-NMCA-015, 113 N.M. 444, 827 P.2d 159.
Headings not law. — The headings on each section of the statutes appearing in the 1953 statutes annotated are not part of the law. They were added by the editors and are merely descriptive and intended as aids in the use of the statutes. City of Albuquerque v. Campbell, 1960-NMSC-138, 68 N.M. 75, 358 P.2d 698.
Title of statute may be referred to for resolving doubts concerning statute's meaning. State ex rel. Sedillo v. Sargent, 1918-NMSC-042, 24 N.M. 333, 171 P. 790.