A. The risk management division of the general services department shall purchase a blanket insurance policy for public buildings of state agencies against loss or damage by fire, windstorm, hail, smoke, explosion, riot or civil commotion. The risk management division may provide coverage to covered educational entities under the public property reserve fund through blanket or individual policies. The risk management division shall create a reserve for the uninsured value of any such public building and for the uninsured loss or damage to any such building by flood, subject to any deductible that the risk management advisory board determines shall be borne by individual state agencies or covered educational entities.

B. Subject to any deductible to be borne by individual state agencies or covered educational entities, the risk management division of the general services department may purchase insurance, establish reserves or provide a combination of insurance and reserves to cover, in any amount not to exceed replacement cost:

(1) buildings of state agencies or covered educational entities destroyed or damaged by any peril other than a peril set forth in Subsection A of this section;

(2) personal property that is destroyed or damaged by any peril; or

(3) personal property that is stolen.

C. Any insurance purchased pursuant to Subsections A and B of this section may be purchased with such deductible provisions as may be deemed desirable by the risk management advisory board.

D. The director of the risk management division of the general services department shall include in his annual report to the legislature an inventory of all public buildings insured by the division, the estimated total value of the buildings, the total insured value of the buildings and the amount of any deductible or maximum loss provisions in the current insurance policy covering the buildings.

E. There is created in the state treasury the "public property reserve fund". The fund shall consist of assessments of state agencies and covered educational entities deposited in the fund, money appropriated to the fund, income earned by the fund and money received as proceeds of insurance purchased pursuant to this section. The fund may be used to:

(1) purchase property insurance;

(2) pay any claim covered by a certificate of coverage issued by the director of the risk management division of the general services department; provided such claims shall only be paid to the extent of actual expenses that have been or will be incurred to repair, reconstruct and replace covered property;

(3) pay the cost of repair, reconstruction and replacement of property and expense incidental thereto arising from damage or destruction covered pursuant to this section;

(4) enter into consulting and other contracts as may be necessary or desirable in carrying out the provisions of this section; and

(5) pay costs and expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this section.

F. The director of the legislative council service may elect to cover all or any part of public buildings or property under his jurisdiction through the public property reserve fund by giving written notice of such election to the director of the risk management division of the general services department and paying assessments that the director of the risk management division prescribes.

G. For purposes of this section, "state agency" means the state or any of its branches, agencies, departments, boards, instrumentalities or institutions.

H. For the purposes of this section, "covered educational entities" means school districts as defined in Section 22-1-2 NMSA 1978 and educational institutions established pursuant to Chapter 21, Articles 13, 16 and 17 [repealed] NMSA 1978 that request and are granted coverage from the risk management division of the general services department, if the coverage is commercially unavailable; except that coverage shall be provided to a school district only through the public school insurance authority or its successor unless the district has been granted a waiver by the authority or the authority is not offering the coverage for the fiscal year for which the division offers its coverage. A local school district to which the division may provide coverage may provide for marketing and servicing to be done by licensed insurance agents who shall receive reasonable compensation for their services.

History: 1978 Comp., § 13-5-1, enacted by Laws 1981, ch. 101, § 1; 1983, ch. 301, § 31; 1986, ch. 102, § 4; 1989, ch. 324, § 6; 1996 (1st S.S.), ch. 3, § 3; 2000, ch. 27, § 2.

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1977, ch. 385, § 11, repealed former 6-1-4, 1953 Comp., relating to insurance for public buildings, and enacted a new 6-1-4, 1953 Comp.

Laws 1981, ch. 101, § 1, repealed former 13-5-1 NMSA 1978, relating to insurance for public buildings, and enacted a new 13-5-1 NMSA 1978.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and it is not part of the law.

Article 17 of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 was repealed by Laws 1995, ch. 224, § 29 and Laws 1999, ch. 219, § 21. See notes following Chapter 21, Article 17 NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For insurance of building housing legislature, see 2-3-5 NMSA 1978.

For insurance of state library building, see 2-3-7 NMSA 1978.

The 2000 amendment, effective March 6, 2000, added the last sentence in Subsection A; in Subsection B, added "establish reserves or provide a combination of insurance and reserves to cover, in any amount not to exceed placement cost" to the end of the introductory language; deleted "cover, in any amount not to exceed replacement cost" from the beginning of Paragraph (1), and deleted "cover, in any amount not to exceed replacement cost, any" from the beginning of Paragraphs (2) and (3); and deleted Subsection I, concerning excess cash balances in the public property reserve fund.

The 1996 amendment, effective March 21, 1996, deleted the last sentence of Subsection A which provided that the risk management division would create a reserve for uninsured value of public property, inserted "of the general services department" in Subsections B, D, E, and F, deleted "establish reserves or provide a combination of insurance and reserves" following "purchase insurance" in Subsection B, inserted "income earned by the fund" preceding "and money" in the second sentence of Subsection E, rewrote Subsection I, and made several substitutions for "which" throughout the section.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 56 Am. Jur. 2d Municipal Corporations, Counties, and Other Political Subdivisions, § 548.

Availability of proceeds of insurance on public building for purpose other than restoring or replacing the building damaged or destroyed, 65 A.L.R. 1124.

Right or duty to carry insurance on public property, 100 A.L.R. 600.

81A C.J.S. States § 147.