A. Except for the rules relating to discovery, the technical rules of evidence and the Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts do not apply at a protest hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Property Tax Code, but the hearing shall be conducted so that an ample opportunity is provided for the presentation of complaints and defenses. All testimony shall be taken under oath. A verbatim record of the hearings shall be made but need not be transcribed unless required for appeal purposes. A hearing officer shall be designated by the chief hearing officer of the administrative hearings office to conduct the hearing.

B. Final action taken by the hearing officer on a petition shall be by written order. The hearing officer's order shall be made within thirty days after the date of the hearing, but this time limitation may be extended by agreement of the department and the protestant. A copy of the order shall be sent immediately by certified mail to the property owner. A copy of the order shall also be sent to the county assessor.

C. All protests shall be decided within one hundred twenty days of the date the protest is filed unless the parties otherwise agree. The protest shall be denied if the property owner or the property owner's authorized representative fails, without reasonable justification, to appear at the hearing.

D. The hearing officer's order shall be in the name of the chief hearing officer, dated, state the changes to be made in the valuation records, if any, and direct the county assessor to take appropriate action. The department shall make any changes in its valuation records required by the order.

E. Changes in the valuation records shall clearly indicate that the prior entry has been superseded by an order of the hearing officer.

F. The department shall maintain a file of all orders made pursuant to this section. The file shall be open for public inspection.

G. If an order of the hearing officer is appealed under Section 7-38-28 NMSA 1978, the department shall immediately notify the appropriate county assessor of the appeal. Notations shall be made in the valuation records of the assessor and the department indicating the pendency of the appeal.

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-31-23, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 258, § 63; 1982, ch. 28, § 13; 1986, ch. 20, § 114; 2015, ch. 73, § 21.

Cross references. — For rules relating to discovery, see Rule 1-026 NMRA et seq.

For the Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts see 1-001 NMRA et seq.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, required the chief hearing officer of the administrative hearings office to designate hearing officers to preside over protest hearings conducted pursuant to the Property Tax Code; in Subsection A, after "do not apply at", added "a", after "protest", deleted "hearings before the hearing officer" and added "hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Property Tax Code", after "but the", changed "hearings" to "hearing", and after "designated by the", deleted "secretary" and added "chief hearing officer of the administrative hearings office"; in Subsection C, after "property owner or", deleted "his" and added "the property owner's"; and in Subsection D, after "in the name of the", deleted "secretary" and added "chief hearing officer".