New Mexico Statutes
Article 23 - Engineering and Surveying
Section 61-23-2 - Declaration of policy. (Repealed effective July 1, 2024.)

The legislature declares that it is a matter of public safety, interest and concern that the practices of engineering and surveying merit and receive the confidence of the public and that only qualified persons be permitted to engage in the practices of engineering and surveying. In order to safeguard life, health and property and to promote the public welfare, any person in either public or private capacity practicing or offering to practice engineering or surveying shall be required to submit evidence that the person is qualified to so practice and shall be licensed as provided in the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act. It is unlawful for any person to practice, offer to practice, engage in the business, act in the capacity of, advertise or use in connection with the person's name or otherwise assume, use or advertise any title or description tending to convey the impression that the person is a professional, licensed engineer or surveyor unless that person is licensed or exempt under the provisions of the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act. A person who engages in the business or acts in the capacity of an engineer or surveyor in New Mexico, except as otherwise provided in Sections 61-23-22 and 61-23-27.10 NMSA 1978, with or without a New Mexico license, has thereby submitted to the jurisdiction of the state and to the administrative jurisdiction of the board and is subject to all penalties and remedies available for a violation of any provision of Chapter 61, Article 23 NMSA 1978. The practice of engineering or surveying shall be deemed a privilege granted by the board based on the qualifications of the individual as evidenced by the licensee's certificate, which shall not be transferable.
History: Laws 1987, ch. 336, § 2; 1993, ch. 218, § 2; 1999, ch. 259, § 1; 2003, ch. 233, § 1; 2017, ch. 42, § 1.
Delayed repeals. — For delayed repeal of this section, see 61-23-32 NMSA 1978.
Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1987, ch. 336 repealed former 61-23-2 NMSA 1978, as amended by Laws 1947, ch. 110, § 3, relating to right of entry on public and private property, effective June 19, 1987, and enacted a new section.
The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, made technical revisions; replaced each occurrence of "he" or "his" with "the person" or "the person's" throughout the section, and in the fourth sentence, after "capacity of", deleted "a professional engineer or professional" and added "an engineer or".
The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, substituted "engage in the business, act in the capacity of, advertise" for "in New Mexico" in the third sentence; and added the fourth sentence pertaining to professional engineers or surveyors.
The 1999 amendment, effective June 18, 1999, substituted "licensed" for "registered" and made similar changes throughout the section, and substituted "by the board" for "by the state board of registration for professional engineers and surveyors" in the last sentence.
The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, substituted "professional, licensed or registered engineer" for "professional engineer, engineer, professional surveyor" and deleted "which shall be construed in accordance with this declaration of policy" at the end of the third sentence, and added the final sentence.
Broad interpretation of licensing act violated freedom of speech. — Where respondent, who was a hydrologist and a member of the board of directors of a conservancy district, investigated the use of demolition and construction waste as rip-rap in ditches and prepared and presented a report to the board of directors criticizing the conservancy district's use of the rip-rap to prevent erosion; respondent used a civil engineering mathematical formula to compare the conveyance capacity of ditches that had rip-rap with ditches that had sandy bottoms and asserted that the rip-rap reduced conveyance capacity, led to flooding and bank erosion that could lead to failure; respondent criticized the district's engineer who directed the use of the rip-rap; respondent reiterated multiple times that respondent was not an engineer and insisted that the district hire a registered engineer to review respondent's report and to address the issue; and petitioner determined that respondent had practiced engineering without a license, because respondent had applied engineering principles, equations and concepts to investigate and evaluate the flow of water in the district's ditches, the petitioner's broad interpretation and application of Section 61-23-23 NMSA 1978 violated respondent's right to freedom of speech. New Mexico Bd. of Licensure v. Turner, 2013-NMCA-067, 303 P.3d 875.

Structure New Mexico Statutes