New Mexico Statutes Chapter 66. Motor Vehicles § 66-2-16. Administrative fees; collection; remittance; payment; optional fees; appropriation

A. The department and its agents shall collect an administrative fee to defray the department's costs of operation and of rendering service to the public. The fee shall be two dollars ($2.00) for each transaction performed by an agent or the department and shall be collected in addition to all other fees and taxes imposed.

B. All sums collected by an agent or the department as administrative fees shall be remitted as provided in Section 66-2-15 NMSA 1978.

C. Administrative fees remitted by department employees shall be deposited by the state treasurer into the motor vehicle suspense fund and distributed in accordance with Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections A through C of this section, a class A county with a population exceeding three hundred thousand or municipality with a population exceeding three hundred thousand within a class A county designated as an agent pursuant to Section 66-2-14.1 NMSA 1978 shall not be paid the fee provided in Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of Section 66-6-23 NMSA 1978.

E. The secretary is authorized to establish by rule fees to cover the expense of providing additional services for the convenience of the motoring public. Any service established for which a fee is adopted pursuant to this subsection shall be optional, with the fee not being charged to any person not taking advantage of the service. Amounts collected pursuant to this subsection are appropriated to the department for the purpose of defraying the expense of providing the service and for the purposes set forth in Subsection F of Section 66-6-13 NMSA 1978. At the end of a fiscal year the unexpended and unencumbered balances of the fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall not revert to the general fund but shall be expended by the department in fiscal year 2010 and subsequent fiscal years.

F. The secretary shall review, at the end of each fiscal year, the aggregate total of motor vehicle transactions performed by each municipality, county or fee agent operating a motor vehicle field office, and identify each office exceeding ten thousand aggregate transactions per year.