NM
New Mexico House Bill HB304

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HB304 Compare Versions

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2828 HOUSE BILL 304
2929 57
3030 TH LEGISLATURE
3131 -
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3333 STATE
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3535 OF
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3939 MEXICO
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4242 FIRST SESSION
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4545 2025
4646 INTRODUCED BY
4747 Rebecca Dow and Mark B. Murphy
4848 AN ACT
4949 RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; ENACTING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT
5050 OFFICER LOAN REPAYMENT ACT; GRANTING LOAN REPAYMENT AWARDS TO
5151 CERTAIN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS; PROVIDING FOR CONTRACTS,
5252 CONTRACT CANCELLATIONS AND CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT; CREATING A
5353 FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
5454 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
5555 SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
5656 enacted to read:
5757 "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
5858 "Law Enforcement Officer Loan Repayment Act"."
5959 SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
6060 enacted to read:
6161 "[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Law
6262 Enforcement Officer Loan Repayment Act:
6363 .229409.4 underscored material = new
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9090 A. "applicant" means a person applying for an
9191 award;
9292 B. "award" means the grant of money to repay loans;
9393 C. "department" means the higher education
9494 department;
9595 D. "fund" means the law enforcement officer loan
9696 repayment fund;
9797 E. "law enforcement officer" means a person who is
9898 an employee of a New Mexico county or municipal law enforcement
9999 agency and who is authorized to carry a firearm and is
100100 certified pursuant to federal law or the Law Enforcement
101101 Training Act;
102102 F. "loan" means a grant of money pursuant to a
103103 contract between a student and the federal government, state
104104 government or a commercial lender to defray the costs
105105 incidental to an undergraduate or law enforcement education and
106106 that requires either repayment of principal and interest or
107107 repayment in services; and
108108 G. "program" means the law enforcement officer loan
109109 repayment program, which provides money to repay undergraduate
110110 education student loans and loans for law enforcement
111111 training."
112112 SECTION 3. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
113113 enacted to read:
114114 "[NEW MATERIAL] POWERS AND DUTIES.--The department may:
115115 .229409.4
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143143 A. grant an award to repay loans obtained for
144144 undergraduate education and law enforcement training obtained
145145 by a law enforcement officer upon such terms and conditions as
146146 may be imposed by rule of the department; and
147147 B. delegate to other agencies or contract for the
148148 performance of services required by the program."
149149 SECTION 4. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
150150 enacted to read:
151151 "[NEW MATERIAL] AWARDS--CRITERIA--CONTRACT TERMS.--
152152 A. An applicant shall be a law enforcement officer
153153 before applying for the program.
154154 B. Prior to receiving an award, a law enforcement
155155 officer shall file an application with the department that
156156 meets the criteria established by rule of the department.
157157 C. An award recipient shall certify on at least an
158158 annual basis the recipient's continued employment as a law
159159 enforcement officer by a New Mexico county or municipal law
160160 enforcement agency.
161161 D. The following debts are not eligible for
162162 repayment pursuant to the Law Enforcement Officer Loan
163163 Repayment Act:
164164 (1) amounts incurred as a result of
165165 participation in state loan-for-service programs or other state
166166 programs whose purposes state that service be provided in
167167 exchange for financial assistance;
168168 .229409.4
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196196 (2) scholarships that have a service component
197197 or obligation;
198198 (3) personal loans from friends or relatives;
199199 (4) loans that exceed individual standard
200200 school expense levels; and
201201 (5) loans that are eligible for another state
202202 or federal loan repayment program.
203203 E. Award criteria shall provide that:
204204 (1) the applicant has satisfactorily completed
205205 at least three years of service as a law enforcement officer
206206 for a New Mexico municipality or county;
207207 (2) the percentage of repayment directly
208208 relates to years of service completed as a law enforcement
209209 officer;
210210 (3) priority shall be given to law enforcement
211211 officers who work in geographic areas where vacancies are
212212 difficult to fill as determined by the department of public
213213 safety;
214214 (4) award amounts may be modified based on
215215 available funding or other special circumstances; and
216216 (5) an award for each law enforcement officer
217217 shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or the
218218 loan indebtedness of the officer, whichever is less.
219219 F. Every loan repayment award shall be evidenced by
220220 a contract between the law enforcement officer and the
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249249 department on behalf of the state. The contract shall provide
250250 for the payment by the state of a stated sum to the law
251251 enforcement officer's federal government lender, state
252252 government lender or commercial lender and shall state the
253253 obligations of the law enforcement officer under the program as
254254 established by the department.
255255 G. A contract between a law enforcement officer and
256256 the department shall provide that if the law enforcement
257257 officer does not comply with the terms of the contract, the law
258258 enforcement officer shall reimburse the department for all loan
259259 payments made on the law enforcement officer's behalf plus
260260 reasonable interest at a rate to be determined by the
261261 department unless the department finds acceptable extenuating
262262 circumstances for why the law enforcement officer cannot serve
263263 or comply with the terms of the contract.
264264 H. Awards shall be in the form of payments from the
265265 fund directly to the federal government lender, state
266266 government lender or commercial lender for a law enforcement
267267 officer who has received the award and shall be considered a
268268 payment on behalf of the law enforcement officer pursuant to
269269 the contract between the department and the law enforcement
270270 officer. An award shall not obligate the state or the
271271 department to a law enforcement officer's lender for any other
272272 payment and shall not be considered to create any privity of
273273 contract between the state or the department and the lender.
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302302 I. The department shall adopt rules to implement
303303 the provisions of the Law Enforcement Officer Loan Repayment
304304 Act. The rules:
305305 (1) shall provide a procedure for determining
306306 the amount of the loan that will be repaid; and
307307 (2) may provide for the disbursement of awards
308308 to the lender in annual or other periodic installments."
309309 SECTION 5. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
310310 enacted to read:
311311 "[NEW MATERIAL] CONTRACTS--ENFORCEMENT--CANCELLATION.--
312312 A. The general form of a contract required pursuant
313313 to the Law Enforcement Officer Loan Repayment Act shall be
314314 prepared and approved by the department's general counsel, and
315315 each contract shall be signed by the law enforcement officer
316316 and the secretary of higher education or the secretary's
317317 authorized representative on behalf of the state. The
318318 department is vested with full and complete authority and power
319319 to sue in its own name for any balance due to the state from a
320320 law enforcement officer under a loan repayment contract.
321321 B. The department may cancel a contract made
322322 between the department and a law enforcement officer pursuant
323323 to the Law Enforcement Officer Loan Repayment Act for any
324324 reasonable cause deemed sufficient by the department."
325325 SECTION 6. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
326326 enacted to read:
327327 .229409.4
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355355 "[NEW MATERIAL] LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER LOAN REPAYMENT
356356 FUND CREATED.--The "law enforcement officer loan repayment
357357 fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of
358358 appropriations, repayment of awards and interest received by
359359 the department, income from investment of the fund, gifts,
360360 grants and donations. The fund shall be administered by the
361361 department, and money in the fund is appropriated to the
362362 department to make awards pursuant to the Law Enforcement
363363 Officer Loan Repayment Act. Money in the fund at the end of a
364364 fiscal year shall not revert to any other fund. All payments
365365 for awards shall be made on warrants of the secretary of
366366 finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the
367367 secretary of higher education or the secretary's authorized
368368 representative."
369369 SECTION 7. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
370370 enacted to read:
371371 "[NEW MATERIAL] REPORTS.--The department shall submit
372372 annual reports to the governor and the legislature prior to
373373 each regular legislative session of the department's
374374 activities, the awards granted and the job title and duties of
375375 each loan recipient. The report shall also include any
376376 contract cancellations and enforcement actions the department
377377 has taken."
378378 SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
379379 provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.
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