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HOUSE BILL 49
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Cynthia Borrego
AN ACT
RELATING TO DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS; ENACTING THE CLOSED
CAPTIONING ACT; REQUIRING PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION THAT
DISPLAY TELEVISION PROGRAMMING TO PROVIDE CLOSED CAPTIONING;
REQUIRING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ENFORCE THE CLOSED CAPTIONING
ACT; PROVIDING PENALTIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Closed Captioning Act ".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Closed Captioning Act:
A. "closed captioning" means a transcript or
written dialogue of the audio portion of a television program
that is displayed on the screen of a television receiver;
B. "place of public accommodation" means a place
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that is open to the public where commerce is carried out and
includes:
(1) an inn, a hotel, a motel or other place of
lodging, except for an establishment located within a building
that contains fewer than five rooms for rent and that is
actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as
the proprietor's residence;
(2) a restaurant, a bar or other establishment
serving food or drink;
(3) a motion picture house, a theater, a
concert hall, a stadium or other place of exhibition or
entertainment;
(4) an auditorium, a convention center, a
lecture hall or other place of public gathering;
(5) a bakery, a grocery store, a clothing
store, a hardware store, a shopping center or other sales or
rental establishment;
(6) a department store, a laundromat, a dry
cleaner, a bank, a barber shop, a beauty shop, a travel
service, a shoe repair service, a funeral parlor, a gas
station, an office of an accountant or lawyer, a pharmacy, an
insurance office, a professional office of a health care
provider, a hospital or any other retail or service
establishment;
(7) a terminal, a depot or other station used
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for public transportation;
(8) a museum, a library, a gallery or other
place of public display or collection;
(9) a park, a zoo, an amusement park or other
place of recreation;
(10) a nursery, elementary, secondary,
undergraduate, postgraduate or private school;
(11) a senior citizen center, a homeless
shelter, a food bank, an adoption agency or other social
service center establishment; and
(12) a gymnasium, a health spa, a bowling
alley, a golf course or other place of exercise or recreation;
C. "public area" means any part of a place of
public accommodation that is open to the general public;
D. "regular hours" means the hours of the day in
which a place of public accommodation is generally open to
members of the general public;
E. "television program" means any recorded media
that has audio and visual components and is displayed on a
television receiver; and
F. "television receiver" means a device that is
capable of displaying a television program. "Television
receiver" includes:
(1) a television;
(2) a display screen;
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(3) a digital set top box;
(4) a monitor; and
(5) other technology capable of displaying
closed captioning for a television program.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] CLOSED CAPTIONING IN PLACES OF
PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION.--A person that owns or manages a place of
public accommodation shall activate closed captioning on all
television receivers that are turned on and operating in public
areas during regular hours, except when:
A. the television program or television receiver
available in the public area is not technologically able to
display closed captioning;
B. the television program being displayed is exempt
from closed captioning requirements under federal law; and
C. multiple television receivers are displaying the
same television program, in which case only one television
receiver is required to display closed captioning.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] ENFORCEMENT.--
A. The attorney general shall enforce the
provisions of the Closed Captioning Act and shall adopt rules
in accordance with the Closed Captioning Act to provide for the
protection of people with hearing disabilities.
B. The attorney general shall establish a complaint
process whereby an aggrieved member of the public may file a
complaint against a place of public accommodation that violates
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the provisions of the Closed Captioning Act. All complaints
shall be considered public records pursuant to the Inspection
of Public Records Act, with the exception of the complainant's
name, address or protected personal identifier information as
defined in the Inspection of Public Records Act.
C. If the attorney general finds that a place of
public accommodation has violated the provisions of the Closed
Captioning Act, the attorney general shall notify the place of
public accommodation that it is in violation of that act. If
the place of public accommodation fails to demonstrate
compliance with the provisions of the Closed Captioning Act
within thirty days of receiving notice of the violation, it
shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred
fifty dollars ($250). For subsequent violations of the Closed
Captioning Act, the place of public accommodation shall be
assessed a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars
($500).
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