A. All money received by the office of superintendent of insurance for fees, licenses and penalties shall be paid daily by the superintendent to the state treasurer and credited to the "insurance department suspense fund" except as provided by the Law Enforcement Protection Fund Act [Chapter 29, Article 13 NMSA 1978].

B. The superintendent may authorize the refund of money erroneously paid as fees, licenses or penalties from the insurance department suspense fund upon request for refund, if the request is made within one year after the erroneous payment.

C. The "insurance operations fund" is created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of the distributions made to it pursuant to Subsection D of this section. The legislature shall annually appropriate from the fund to the division those amounts necessary for the division to carry out its responsibilities pursuant to the Insurance Code and other laws. Any balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall revert to the general fund.

D. At the end of every month, after applicable refunds are made pursuant to Subsection B of this section, the state treasurer shall make the following transfers from the balance remaining in the insurance department suspense fund:

(1) to the "fire protection fund", that part of the balance derived from property and vehicle insurance business;

(2) to the insurance operations fund, that part of the balance derived from the fees imposed pursuant to Subsections A and E of Section 59A-6-1 NMSA 1978 other than fees derived from property and vehicle insurance business; and

(3) to the general fund, the balance remaining in the insurance department suspense fund derived from all other kinds of insurance business.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 105; 1985, ch. 29, § 3; 1996, ch. 6, § 2; 1999, ch. 289, § 3; 2003, ch. 14, § 19; 2004, ch. 5, § 1; 2007, ch. 282, § 4; 2011, ch. 156, § 3; 2014, ch. 2, § 2; 2017, ch. 1, § 4; 2018, ch. 57, § 16.

The 2018 amendment, effective January 1, 2020, removed from the superintendent of insurance the duty of paying to the state treasurer insurance premium taxes received from insurers, deleted language associated with the superintendent's collection of money paid in taxes, and shortened the deadline for requesting a refund of money erroneously paid as fees, licenses or penalties to the superintendent of insurance; in Subsection A, after "licenses", added "and", and after "penalties", deleted "and taxes"; in Subsection B, after "licenses", added "or", after "penalties", deleted "or taxes", after "suspense fund", deleted "under" and added "upon", after "request for refund,", added "if the request is", after "made within", deleted "three years" and added "one year", and deleted the last sentence, "In the case of premium taxes erroneously paid or overpaid in accordance with law, refund may also be requested as a credit against premium taxes due in any annual or quarterly premium tax return filed within three years of the erroneous or excess payment."; deleted former Subsection C, which related to the allocation of premiums pursuant to any compact which New Mexico has joined, and redesignated former Subsections D and E as Subsections C and D, respectively; and in Subsection D, in the introductory clause, after "Subsection B of this section,", deleted "and after any allocations have been made pursuant to Subsection C of this section", and added "state" preceding "treasurer".

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2018, ch. 57, § 30 provided that:

A. On January 1, 2020, all personnel directly involved with the audit and collection of the taxes imposed pursuant to the New Mexico Insurance Code prior to the effective date of this act, functions, appropriations, money, records, furniture, equipment and other property of, or attributable to, the financial audit bureau of the office of superintendent of insurance shall be transferred to the taxation and revenue department.

B. On January 1, 2020, no contractual obligations of the office of superintendent of insurance shall be binding on the taxation and revenue department.