New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HB153 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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28	28	HOUSE BILL 153
29	29	57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025
30	30	INTRODUCED BY
31	31	Sarah Silva
32	32	AN ACT
33	33	RELATING TO JOURNALISM; ENACTING THE PROTECT REPORTERS FROM
34	34	EXPLOITATIVE STATE SPYING ACT; REPEALING AND ENACTING SECTIONS
35	35	OF THE NMSA 1978.
36	36	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
37	37	SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
38	38	cited as the "Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying
39	39	Act".
40	40	SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
41	41	Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act:
42	42	A. "covered journalist" means a person who
43	43	regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records,
44	44	writes, edits, reports, investigates or publishes news or
45	45	information that concerns local, national or international
46	46	events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to
47	47	.229224.2 underscored material = new
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74	74	the public;
75	75	B. "covered service provider" means a person that,
76	76	by an electronic means, stores, processes or transmits
77	77	information in order to provide a service to customers of the
78	78	person, including:
79	79	(1) a telecommunications carrier and a
80	80	provider of an information service;
81	81	(2) a provider of an interactive computer
82	82	service and an information content provider;
83	83	(3) a provider of a remote computing service;
84	84	and
85	85	(4) a provider of an electronic communication
86	86	service to the public;
87	87	C. "document" means writings, recordings and
88	88	photographs, as those terms are defined by Rule 11-1001 NMRA;
89	89	D. "journalism" means gathering, preparing,
90	90	collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing,
91	91	reporting, investigating or publishing news or information that
92	92	concerns local, national or international events or other
93	93	matters of public interest for dissemination to the public;
94	94	E. "personal account of a covered journalist" means
95	95	an account with a covered service provider used by a covered
96	96	journalist that is not provided, administered or operated by
97	97	the employer of the covered journalist;
98	98	F. "personal technology device of a covered
99	99	.229224.2
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127	127	journalist" means a handheld communications device, laptop
128	128	computer, desktop computer or other internet-connected device
129	129	used by a covered journalist that is not provided or
130	130	administered by the employer of the covered journalist;
131	131	G. "protected information" means any information
132	132	identifying a source who provided information as part of
133	133	engaging in journalism and any records, contents of a
134	134	communication, documents or information that a covered
135	135	journalist obtained or created as part of engaging in
136	136	journalism; and
137	137	H. "state entity" means an entity or employee of
138	138	the executive branch or an administrative agency of the state
139	139	government with the power to issue a subpoena or issue other
140	140	compulsory process.
141	141	SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] LIMITS ON COMPELLED DISCLOSURE
142	142	FROM COVERED JOURNALISTS.--In any matter arising under state
143	143	law, a state entity shall not compel a covered journalist to
144	144	disclose protected information unless a court in the judicial
145	145	district in which the subpoena or other compulsory process is,
146	146	or will be, issued determines by a preponderance of the
147	147	evidence, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard
148	148	to the covered journalist, that:
149	149	A. disclosure of the protected information is
150	150	necessary to prevent, or to identify any perpetrator of, an act
151	151	of terrorism; or
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180	180	B. disclosure of the protected information is
181	181	necessary to prevent a threat of imminent violence, significant
182	182	bodily harm or death, including specified offenses against a
183	183	minor.
184	184	SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] LIMITS ON COMPELLED DISCLOSURE
185	185	FROM COVERED SERVICE PROVIDERS.--
186	186	A. In any matter arising under state law, a state
187	187	entity shall not compel a covered service provider to provide
188	188	testimony or any document consisting of any record, information
189	189	or other communications stored by a covered provider on behalf
190	190	of a covered journalist, including testimony or any document
191	191	relating to a personal account of a covered journalist or a
192	192	personal technology device of a covered journalist, unless a
193	193	court in the judicial district in which the subpoena or other
194	194	compulsory process is, or will be, issued determines by a
195	195	preponderance of the evidence that there is a reasonable threat
196	196	of imminent violence unless the testimony or document is
197	197	provided and issues an order authorizing the state entity to
198	198	compel the disclosure of the testimony or document.
199	199	B. A state entity seeking to compel the provision
200	200	of testimony or any document described in Subsection A of this
201	201	section shall inform the court that the testimony or document
202	202	relates to a covered journalist.
203	203	C. A court may authorize a state entity to compel
204	204	the provision of testimony or a document pursuant to this
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233	233	section only after the state entity seeking the testimony or
234	234	document provides the covered journalist on behalf of whom the
235	235	testimony or document is stored pursuant to Subsection A of
236	236	this section with:
237	237	(1) notice of the subpoena or other compulsory
238	238	request for such testimony or document from the covered service
239	239	provider not later than the time at which the subpoena or
240	240	request is issued to the covered service provider; and
241	241	(2) an opportunity to be heard before the
242	242	court before the time at which the provision of the testimony
243	243	or document is compelled.
244	244	D. Notice and an opportunity to be heard pursuant
245	245	to Subsection C of this section may be delayed for not more
246	246	than forty-five days if the court involved determines there is
247	247	clear and convincing evidence that the notice would pose a
248	248	clear and substantial threat to the integrity of a criminal
249	249	investigation or would present an imminent risk of death or
250	250	serious bodily harm, including specified offenses against a
251	251	minor.
252	252	E. The forty-five-day period described in
253	253	Subsection D of this section may be extended by the court for
254	254	additional periods of not more than forty-five days if the
255	255	court involved makes a new and independent determination that
256	256	there is clear and convincing evidence that providing notice to
257	257	the covered journalist would pose a clear and substantial
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286	286	threat to the integrity of a criminal investigation or would
287	287	present an imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm under
288	288	current circumstances.
289	289	SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] LIMITATION ON CONTENT OF
290	290	INFORMATION.--The content of any testimony, document or
291	291	protected information that is compelled pursuant to Sections 3
292	292	and 4 of the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying
293	293	Act:
294	294	A. shall not be overbroad, unreasonable or
295	295	oppressive and shall, as appropriate, be limited to the purpose
296	296	of verifying published information or describing any
297	297	surrounding circumstances relevant to the accuracy of the
298	298	published information; and
299	299	B. shall be narrowly tailored in subject matter and
300	300	period of time covered so as to avoid compelling the production
301	301	of peripheral, nonessential or speculative information.
302	302	SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.--
303	303	Nothing in the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying
304	304	Act shall be construed to prevent the state from pursuing an
305	305	investigation of a covered journalist or organization that is:
306	306	A. suspected of committing a crime;
307	307	B. a witness to a crime unrelated to engaging in
308	308	journalism;
309	309	C. suspected of being an agent of a foreign power,
310	310	as defined in Section 101 of the federal Foreign Intelligence
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339	339	Surveillance Act of 1978;
340	340	D. an individual or organization designated under
341	341	Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701);
342	342	E. a specially designated terrorist, as that term
343	343	is defined in Section 595.311 of Title 31 of the Code of
344	344	Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto; or
345	345	F. a terrorist organization, as that term is
346	346	defined in Section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(II) of the federal
347	347	Immigration and Nationality Act.
348	348	SECTION 7. REPEAL.--Section 38-6-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
349	349	1973, Chapter 31, Section 1) is repealed.
350	350	SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
351	351	provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.
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