A. The commission shall prescribe minimum requirements for financial responsibility for all motor carriers.
B. A motor carrier shall not operate on the highways of this state without having filed with the commission proof of financial responsibility in the form and amount as the commission shall by rule prescribe.
C. In prescribing minimum requirements for financial responsibility for motor carriers, the commission shall adopt the same minimum liability insurance requirements as those required by the federal motor carrier safety administration for interstate motor carriers for all motor vehicles for carriage of property or household goods and for all passenger motor vehicles with such capacities. The commission shall adopt reasonable minimum liability insurance requirements for the use of passenger motor vehicles with capacities less than those regulated by the federal motor carrier safety administration and in doing so shall consider the number of passengers being transported and the nature of the transportation services provided by the motor carriers using vehicles of those capacities.
D. The commission may authorize a motor carrier to carry its own insurance in lieu of filing a policy of insurance, certificate showing the issuance of a policy of insurance or a surety bond. In approving an application to be self-insured, the commission shall consider:
(1) the financial stability of the carrier;
(2) previous loss history of the carrier;
(3) the safety record of the carrier;
(4) the size, nature of operations and other operating characteristics of the carrier; and
(5) other factors necessary for the protection of passengers, shippers and the public.
E. Notwithstanding any requirement of the New Mexico Insurance Code [Chapter 59A, except Articles 30A and 42A NMSA 1978] to the contrary, the commission may accept proof of public liability insurance from an insurer not authorized in New Mexico if:
(1) the insurance is for an interstate motor carrier transporting commodities exempt from regulation by the federal motor carrier safety administration participating in the unified carrier registration system for those motor carriers; and
(2) the insurer is authorized to write public liability insurance in at least one other state.
F. All motor carriers shall carry proof of financial responsibility in each motor vehicle they operate in this state.
History: Laws 2003, ch. 359, § 18; 2005, ch. 288, § 2; 2013, ch. 73, § 16; 2013, ch. 77, § 16.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, clarified and simplified the requirements for financial responsibility; in Subsection A, after "motor carriers", deleted language which included incidental carriers and required the commission to adopt rules regarding financial responsibility of incidental carriers; in Subsection B, after "motor carrier", deleted "or incidental carrier" and deleted the former second sentence, which provided for the maximum amount of financial responsibility for incidental carriers; in Subsection C, in the first sentence, after "the commission shall adopt", added the remainder of the sentence, added the language of the second sentence up to the word "consider", after "consider", deleted "the creation of sufficient incentives to motor carriers to maintain and operate their equipment in a safe manner", and after "transportation services provided by the motor", deleted "; and other factors necessary to ensure that motor carriers maintain an appropriate level of financial responsibility" and added "carriers using vehicles of those capacities"; and in Paragraph (1) of Subsection E, after "participating in the", deleted "single state", and added "unified carrier".
Laws 2013, ch. 73, § 16 and Laws 2013, ch. 77, § 16, both effective July 1, 2013, enacted identical amendments to this section. The section was set out as amended by Laws 2013, ch. 77, § 16. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.
The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, added Subsection A to provide that the commission shall prescribe minimum requirement for financial responsibility for motor carriers, including incidental carriers and to provide that rules for incidental carriers shall be adopted by July 1, 2006 and implemented beginning on July 1, 2006; and provided in Subsection B that incidental carriers shall not operate on highways without filing proof of financial responsibility and that the maximum amount of financial responsibility for incidental carriers shall not exceed that required for other motor carriers.