A. For the purpose of this section, "commuting sheep or goats" means sheep or goats that are transferred from New Mexico to some other state with which New Mexico shares a common boundary and back again or from some other state that shares a common boundary with New Mexico, to New Mexico and back again:

(1) during any twelve-month period;

(2) by one owner; and

(3) for the purpose of seasonal grazing, breeding, lambing or kidding on lands owned or leased by that owner in the course of his normal operations in each of the two states.

B. Owners of commuting sheep or goats shall have them inspected for each movement but shall pay the inspection fees for transporting commuting sheep or goats only once in any twelve-month period. For subsequent movements in a twelve-month period, the owner shall pay the inspection fees on those sheep or goats over the number involved in the first movement. If the owner of commuting sheep or goats transports them for a purpose other than regular commuting they shall, at that time, lose their special character of commuting sheep or goats and be subject to the fees normally required by law.

History: 1953 Comp., § 47-8-41, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 129, § 6; 1999, ch. 282, § 44; 2001, ch. 38, § 1.

The 2001 amendment, effective July 1, 2001, rewrote Subsection B, which formerly read "Owners of commuting sheep or goats shall have them inspected for each movement and shall pay the inspection fees for the sheep or goats normally required by law."

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, inserted "or goats" throughout the section; in Subsection A, deleted the former Paragraph (1) and (2) designations, redesignated former Paragraphs (3) to (5) as Paragraphs (1) to (3), and in Paragraph (3), inserted "or kidding"; and in Subsection B, substituted "the sheep or goats normally required by law" for "transporting commuting sheep only once in any twelve-month period. For the second movement in any twelve-month period, the owner shall pay the inspection fees on any sheep over the number involved in the first movement. If at any time the owner of commuting sheep transports them for any purpose other than their regular commuting, they shall at that time lose their special character of commuting sheep and be subject to the fees normally required by law".