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 Sen. Pope
/Rep. Herndon
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 1/25/2025
SHORT TITLE Anti-Hazing Act
BILL
NUMBER Senate Bill 10
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
County Jails
No fiscal
impact
At least $76.8 At least $115.2 $192.0 Recurring
County General
Funds
Public Schools
No fiscal
impact
At least $100.0 At least $100.0
At least
$200.0
Recurring General Fund
Local Law
Enforcement
No fiscal
impact
Indeterminate,
but minimal
Indeterminate,
but minimal
Indeterminate,
but minimal
Recurring
County and
Other State
Funds
Colleges and
Universities
No fiscal
impact
At least $200.0 At least $200.0
At least
$400.0
Recurring
General and
Federal Funds
Total
No fiscal
impact
At least $376.8 At least $415.2
At least
$792.0
Recurring
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT)
New Mexico Independent Community Colleges (NMICC)
University of New Mexico (UNM)
New Mexico Attorney General (NMAG)
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Public Education Department (PED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate Bill 10
Senate Bill 10 (SB10) proposes the Anti-Hazing Act, which criminalizes hazing incidents in
public and private K-12 schools and in colleges and universities and establishes preventive
measures for colleges and universities. Under the bill, both hazing and failure to report hazing
are classified as misdemeanors with the New Mexico Attorney General (NMAG) and district
attorneys having jurisdiction over enforcement. Senate Bill 10 – Page 2
Beginning with the 2025 fall term, colleges and universities will be required to implement anti-
hazing codes of conduct, establish hazing prevention committees, publicly report hazing
incidents, and provide annual training to students and staff. Fraternities and sororities that
participate in or fail to comply with the reporting requirements in the bill could face the loss of
recognition.
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 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology estimates the cost to implement a
prevention program, provide annual training, develop and maintain reporting systems and
websites, and coordinate with appropriate state agencies and local law enforcement, is
approximately $397 thousand over three years. UNM suggests an estimated cost to train all
UNM students, staff, and faculty could be $15.3 thousand annually. Smaller colleges may face
challenges in funding their prevention efforts or gathering data for reporting. However, some of
the requirements in the bill could be executed with existing staff and resources.
In addition, this bill creates two new crimes classified as misdemeanors. Without additional data,
this analysis assumes that the new crimes of hazing and failure to report hazing will result in at
least four people being admitted to county jails for a period not to exceed one year at a cost of
$19.2 thousand to the county jails.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Because of nation-wide concerns about serious injury and death from hazing, the federal bi-
partisan Stop Campus Hazing Act was signed into law December 23, 2024. The Act requires
colleges and universities that participate in federal student aid programs to start collecting hazing
statistics by January 1, 2025, have anti-hazing policies in place by June 23, 2025, begin
documenting violations by July 1, 2025, make publicly available those violations by December
23, 2025, and include hazing statistics in their required annual security reports starting with the
2026 report. The federal Department of Education is tasked with providing guidance to these
institutions. Colleges and universities that fail to comply with the federal Stop Campus Hazing
Act, which includes some similar provisions included in SB10, could face severe penalties,
including the loss of federal funding.
According to HED, most institutions in New Mexico have anti-hazing policies in their codes of
conduct. The biggest change for higher education institutions may be posting annual reports of
actual findings on hazing violations.
Section 3 (crimes and penalties) also applies to K-12 students in residential programs such as
those attending the New Mexico Military Institute or New Mexico School for the Arts, for
example.
Senate Bill 10 – Page 3
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Private and public colleges and universities will use staffing resources to provide training,
investigate allegations, report violations and maintain records, and to coordinate with police.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
SB10 is similar to SB55 from the 2024 legislative session except it extends the prohibition
against hazing for students attending any public or private K-12 school, not just post-secondary
institutions, clarifies that reports of actual findings are to be publicly reported annually, identifies
the positions responsible for reporting hazing incidents, creates an additional misdemeanor
penalty for failure to report hazing, and identifies the law enforcement entities in charge of
enforcement.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
NMAG notes that the definition of hazing is different than the definition included in the federal
Stop Campus Hazing Act, which may create confusion, and that the lack of an umbrella
definition for a “student organization” may result in overreach. Further, timelines and report
requirements under the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act are different, which may create
additional administrative burdens for higher education institutions.
NMAG also suggests that because the bill creates the crime of hazing for intentionally hazing
another person, it may preclude prosecution for hazing behavior committed knowingly or
recklessly (Model Penal Code, Section 2.02, General Requirements of Culpability). Also, if the
intention is to say a good faith report does not result in sanctions or punishment from the
institution for violating its policies (as opposed to the criminal justice system), that should be
stated explicitly.
AHO/rl/SL2