A. The board of regents of each state educational institution designated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico may promulgate regulations governing the operation and parking of vehicles on any area within the exterior boundaries of lands under its control which is not a public street or highway, including but not limited to:

(1) limiting the rates of speed;

(2) assigning parking spaces and designating parking areas and their uses, and collecting rent therefor;

(3) prohibiting parking;

(4) removing vehicles parked in violation of campus traffic regulations, at the expense of the violator who shall pay the expense before the vehicle is released; and

(5) instituting a system of vehicle registration for the identification and regulation of vehicles regularly using institutional premises, including a reasonable charge to defray costs of registration.

B. Areas subject to campus traffic regulations shall be marked with signs conforming with standards used by the state highway department.

C. Any person who violates any campus traffic regulation adopted under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than five dollars ($5.00). All fines and forfeitures collected under this section may be remitted to the state educational institution on whose campus the violation occurred. The money from such fines and forfeitures remitted to state educational institutions shall be used solely for the purposes of enforcing this act [29-5-1, 29-5-2 NMSA 1978], for planning and improving movement and control and related parking problems, and for use in the operation, management and administration of the institution's security department responsible for the enforcement of this act.

History: 1953 Comp., § 39-5-1, enacted by Laws 1968, ch. 62, § 153; 1975, ch. 167, § 2.

Board may also employ and assign duties of campus security. — The board of regents of the university of New Mexico is specifically given traffic control jurisdiction on its property and may employ and assign duties of campus security officers for the institution. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-48.

Section 35-14-2 NMSA 1978 supplements section. — Section 35-14-2 NMSA 1978, providing for a waiver of the right to regulate university property under agreement between boards of regents of state educational institutions and municipalities for traffic offenses occurring on the university campus, supplements this section and Section 29-5-2 NMSA 1978. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-48.

City crime ordinances not applicable to land under board's control. — Ordinances of the city of Albuquerque dealing with crimes do not apply to land under the control of the board of regents of the university of New Mexico except for traffic offenses as provided in Section 35-14-2 NMSA 1978. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-48.