A. Under the provisions of this section, the commission shall reimburse cities, towns, villages and counties for cost of relocation of municipally or county owned utility facilities where relocation is required because of the construction or repair of any public state highway or interstate system in the city or county, town or village, provided only that the governing body of the municipality or county shall have adopted and filed with the commission its resolution electing to receive reimbursement of its costs of relocation pursuant to this section in lieu of Section 67-8-18 NMSA 1978 and of any other statute of this state that may provide the same or similar reimbursement relief to cities, towns, villages and counties with respect to relocations in the interstate system.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of Sections 67-8-15 through 67-8-21 NMSA 1978, the commission may pay the cost of relocation of utilities owned by special districts, counties or municipalities located within the right of way of public highways on the state highway system when the relocation is required by the state highway and transportation department, provided that the special district, county or municipality can demonstrate, pursuant to rules promulgated by the commission, that the special district, county or municipality is financially unable to pay the cost of relocation. As used in this section, "special district" means any single or multipurpose district organized or that may be organized as a local public body of this state for the purpose of constructing and furnishing any urban-oriented service that another political subdivision of the state is authorized to perform, including but not limited to the services of water for domestic, commercial or industrial uses, sewage, garbage, refuse collection and recreation, but excluding the functions or services of drainage, irrigation, reclamation, soil and water conservation or flood control.

History: 1953 Comp., § 55-7-29, enacted by Laws 1959, ch. 310, § 7; 1994, ch. 103, § 1; 1995, ch. 217, § 1.

Cross references. — For powers of municipalities, see 3-60-26 and 3-60A-10 NMSA 1978.

For Relocation Assistance Act, see Chapter 42, Article 3 NMSA 1978.

The 1995 amendment, effective July 16, 1995, inserted "or county" in the section heading and in three places in Subsection A; in Subsection A, inserted "and counties" in two places and substituted "public state highway or interstate system" for "public highway of the interstate system"; inserted "counties or municipalities" near the beginning and "county or municipality" in two places in the first sentence of Subsection B; and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.

The 1994 amendment, effective July 1, 1994, redesignated the previously undesignated paragraph as Subsection A, and in the subsection, substituted "the" for "such" preceding "municipality," substituted "67-8-18 NMSA 1978" for "4 hereof" and substituted "that" for "which" following "any other statute of this state"; and added Subsection B.

Severability clauses. — Laws 1959, ch. 310, § 9, provides for the severability of the act if any part or application thereof is held invalid.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 39 Am. Jur. 2d Highways, Streets and Bridges § 278.

Constitutionality of state legislation to reimburse public utilities for cost of relocating their facilities because of highway construction, conditioned upon federal reimbursement of the state under the terms of Federal Aid Highway Act, 75 A.L.R.2d 419.

39A C.J.S. Highways § 29.