A. The department shall issue a standardized special registration plate with a logo specified in Section 66-3-424 NMSA 1978 indicating that the recipient is a person who is a retired New Mexico law enforcement officer upon submission by the person of proof satisfactory to the department that the person is a retired New Mexico law enforcement officer. The proof shall include the submission of a retirement commission from a New Mexico law enforcement agency.
B. A person shall not falsely represent that the person is a retired New Mexico law enforcement officer if that person is, in fact, not a retired New Mexico law enforcement officer. The secretary shall determine what constitutes satisfactory proof that a person is a retired New Mexico law enforcement officer.
C. A person who violates the provisions of Subsection B of this section is guilty of a penalty assessment misdemeanor.
D. A fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00), which is in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee, shall be collected by the department for the original issuance of the special registration plate for retired New Mexico law enforcement officers.
E. Ten dollars ($10.00) of the fee collected pursuant to Subsection D of this section shall be retained by the department and is appropriated to the department to defray the cost of making and issuing special registration plates for retired New Mexico law enforcement officers. The remaining fifteen dollars ($15.00) shall be deposited in the motor vehicle suspense fund for distribution pursuant to Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978.
F. The secretary shall approve the final logo design for the special registration plate for retired New Mexico law enforcement officers. The logo shall be clearly marked as "retired New Mexico law enforcement officer" for issuance to retired New Mexico law enforcement officers.
History: Laws 2009, ch. 86, § 1; 2018, ch. 74, § 25.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, reduced the penalty for falsely representing oneself as a retired New Mexico law enforcement officer to a penalty assessment misdemeanor, and made technical changes; replaced "division" with "department" throughout the section; and in Subsection C, after "guilty of a", deleted "petty" and added "penalty assessment", and after "misdemeanor", deleted "and shall be sentenced pursuant to Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978".