New Mexico Statutes
Article 32 - Funeral Services
Section 61-32-5 - Board created. (Repealed effective July 1, 2024.)

A. There is created the "board of funeral services".
B. The board is administratively attached to the department.
C. The board consists of six members. Three members shall be funeral service practitioners who have been licensed in this state for at least five years; two members shall represent the public and shall not have been licensed for the practice of funeral service or direct disposition in this state or any other jurisdiction and shall not ever have had any financial interest, direct or indirect, in any funeral, commercial or direct disposition establishment or crematory; and one member shall be a licensed direct disposer or health care practitioner from the office of the state medical investigator who has been licensed in this state for at least five years.
D. Members of the board shall be appointed by the governor for terms of four years. Each member shall hold office until the member's successor is duly qualified and appointed. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term in the same manner as original appointments.
E. Members of the board shall be reimbursed per diem and mileage as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978] and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance.
F. A simple majority of the board members currently serving constitutes a quorum.
G. The board shall hold at least two regular meetings each year and shall meet at such other times as it deems necessary.
H. No board member shall serve more than two full consecutive terms. The board shall recommend removal of any board member who has three unexcused absences from properly noticed meetings within a twelve-month period and may recommend removal of a board member for any other just cause.
I. The board shall elect a chair and other officers as deemed necessary to administer its duties.
History: 1978 Comp., § 61-32-5, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 204, § 5; 1999, ch. 284, § 3; 2012, ch. 48, § 7.
Delayed repeals. — For delayed repeal of this section, see 61-32-31 NMSA 1978.
Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1993, ch. 204, § 32 repealed former 61-32-5 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 185, § 5, concerning board duties and powers, and § 5 of the act enacted a new section, effective June 18, 1993.
The 2012 amendment, effective July 1, 2012, changed the name of the board; required that a health care practitioner be from the office of the state medical investigator; in Subsection A, after "board of", deleted "thanatopractice" and added "funeral services"; in Subsection C, in the second sentence, after "health care practitioner", added the phrase "from the office of the state medical investigator"; and in Subsection E, after "shall be reimbursed", added "per diem and mileage".
The 1999 amendment, effective June 18, 1999, in the first sentence of Subsection D, deleted "staggered" preceding "terms of four years" and deleted language at the end, which stated that board members appointed and serving under prior law at the effective date of the Thanatopractice Act shall serve out the terms for which they were appointed, and in Subsection H, substituted the last sentence for language at the end of the first sentence, which read, "and any member failing to attend, after proper notice, three meetings shall automatically be recommended for removal as a board member unless excused for reasons set forth in board regulations".

Structure New Mexico Statutes