A. A special fuel user whose vehicle is not registered with the department shall acquire from the department, before operating the vehicle on New Mexico highways:

(1) a temporary special fuel user permit valid for one calendar day only or for one entry into and one exit out of New Mexico; or

(2) a border crossing special fuel user permit, as provided for in Section 1 [7-16A-19.1 NMSA 1978] of this 2018 act.

B. A special fuel user applying for a temporary special fuel user permit shall apply for the permit on a form approved by the department.

C. The fee for a temporary special fuel user permit is five dollars ($5.00) for each motor vehicle.

D. It is a violation of the Special Fuels Supplier Tax Act for a person to act as a temporary special fuel user without possessing a valid temporary special fuel user permit issued by the department.

E. It is a violation of the Special Fuels Supplier Tax Act for a person holding a valid border crossing special fuel user permit to travel in the motor carrier vehicle for which the permit was issued on New Mexico highways outside the area in which the permit authorizes travel, unless the person may otherwise under law engage in that travel. In addition to any other penalty that may apply, a person who violates this provision is subject to a fine of three hundred dollars ($300).

History: Laws 1992, ch. 51, § 19; 1993, ch. 272, § 7; 1997, ch. 192, § 13; 2018, ch. 77, § 4.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, required special fuel users whose vehicles are not registered with the department to either obtain a temporary permit or a border crossing special fuel user permit before operating a vehicle on New Mexico highways, and provided a penalty for the violation of the provisions of this section; in the catchline, deleted "Temporary", and after "permits;", added "violation"; in Subsection A, deleted "To prevent evasion of the special fuel excise tax" and added "A", after "shall acquire", deleted "a temporary special fuel user permit", and added Paragraphs A(1) and A(2); added new subsection designation "B." and redesignated former Subsections B and C as Subsections C and D, respectively; in Subsection B, added "A special fuel user applying for a", after "permit shall", deleted "be valid for one entrance and one exit of the state within a period that shall not exceed forty-eight hours from the time of issuance" and added "apply for the permit on a form approved by the department"; in Subsection D, after "user without", deleted "obtaining" and added "possessing"; and added Subsection E.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 1, 1997, rewrote the first sentence in Subsection A, deleted Subsection B, and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections B and C.

The 1993 amendment, deleted "temporary highway user permits" at the end of the catchline and deleted former Subsections E to G, pertaining to issuance, use and requirements for temporary highway user permits.

Laws 1993, ch. 272 contained both an emergency clause making the act effective immediately and an effective date provision providing that the act was effective January 1, 1993. See N.M. Const., Art. IV, § 23.