Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Dow/Hernandez, J.
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 3/5/2025
SHORT TITLE Liquor License Transfer Criteria
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 498
ANALYST Hanika-Ortiz
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected RLD – ABC
Division
No fiscal impact $40.0
Indeterminate
but minimal
At least $40.0 Recurring
Other state
funds
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD)
Agency Analysis Requested But Not Received From
Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD) Economic Development Department (EDD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 498
House Bill 498 (HB498) amends Section 60-6B-12 NMSA 1978 (Liquor Control Act) to allow a
dispenser license to transfer from its original district into another district that has not reached the
maximum number of licenses allowed. In addition to those licenses selling alcohol by the glass,
the original license holder would retain the ability to sell packaged liquor for offsite
consumption. HB498 also removes restrictions that required rural licenses to stay in the locations
where they originated. Now, rural licenses may transfer to any district that has not reached the
maximum number of licenses allowed.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) notes it will take two to three months to make
changes to its NM-Plus licensing system. Those costs are expected to be about $40 thousand.
House Bill 498 – Page 2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The bill will allow dispenser liquor licenses to transfer outside their original local option district
(LOD), while keeping offsite packaged liquor sales privileges. This could affect the balance of
both access to onsite sales by the glass and packaged sales in some areas. The bill also removes
location restrictions on rural liquor license transfers that will allow them to move sales to more
urban areas. This could disproportionately affect access to alcohol for more rural communities.
A local option district (LOD) under the Liquor Control Act is a municipality or county that can
ask for a public vote to allow or prohibit alcohol sales within its jurisdiction.
If liquor licenses can be transferred to areas without administrative capacity for regulation, local
law enforcement may find it harder to control alcohol misuse in certain communities.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATION
The Liquor Control Act gives local governments the ability to regulate the sale of alcohol in their
communities. The act includes restrictions on the number and location of licenses to prevent
excessive alcohol availability, which may lead to higher rates of crime or public health issues.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
RLD says current staff would be able to handle any increases in applications from this bill.
However, at first, staff would need approximately two to three months to implement changes in
NM-Plus.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
House Bill 478 proposes similar changes to the Liquor Control Act as House Bill 498 but also
removes a local government’s ability to call for a public vote on a liquor license transfer.
Senate Bill 466 reduces some restaurant liquor license renewal fees, eliminates number of drinks
per customer, eliminates certain waiting periods, and establishes “local entertainment zones.”
AHO/hj/hg/sgs