A. The department, at various times as it considers necessary or appropriate to assure compliance with the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act, shall select for financial responsibility affirmation an appropriate sample number of the motor vehicles registered in New Mexico. The department is authorized to emphasize, in accordance with rules adopted by the department, for affirmation of financial responsibility, individuals whose affirmations of financial responsibility have previously been found to be incorrect.

B. When a motor vehicle is selected for financial responsibility affirmation under Subsection A of this section, the department shall mail an affirmation form to the registered owner of the motor vehicle notifying him that his motor vehicle has been selected for financial responsibility affirmation and requiring him to respond and to affirm, by at least one signature shown on the affirmation form, the existence of evidence satisfying the financial responsibility requirements of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act for the motor vehicle.

C. Failure by an owner to return the affirmation of financial responsibility to the department within fifteen days after mailing by the department or a determination by the department that an affirmation is not accurate constitutes reasonable grounds under Section 66-5-235 NMSA 1978 to believe that a person is operating a motor vehicle in violation of Section 66-5-205 NMSA 1978 or has falsely affirmed the existence of means of satisfying the financial responsibility requirements of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act.

D. The department may investigate all affirmations required by the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act returned to the department. If the owner affirms the existence of a motor vehicle insurance policy covering the motor vehicle, the department may forward the affirmation to the listed insurer to determine whether the affirmation is correct. An insurer shall mail notification to the department within twenty working days of receipt of the affirmation inquiry in the event the affirmation is not correct. The notification shall be prima facie evidence of failure to satisfy the financial responsibility requirements of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act. The department may determine the correctness of affirmation of other means of satisfying the financial responsibility requirements of that act for the motor vehicle.

E. The department may use accident reports as basic material for the construction of its sampling procedure.

F. No civil liability shall accrue to the insurer or any of its employees for reports made to the department under this section when the reports are made in good faith based on the most recent information available to the insurer.

G. The affirmation form used when sampling shall require the report of the name of the company issuing the policy, the policy number or any other information that identifies the policy.

History: 1978 Comp., § 66-5-232, enacted by Laws 1983, ch. 318, § 31; 1998, ch. 34, § 14.

Recompilations. — Laws 1983, ch. 318, § 22, recompiled former 66-5-232 NMSA 1978, relating to notice of cancellation or termination of certified policy, as 66-5-223 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 1984. Section 66-5-223 NMSA 1978 was subsequently repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 34, § 19, effective July 1, 1998.

The 1998 amendment, effective July 1, 1998, substituted "department" for "division" throughout the section and in Subsection D, substituted "insurance" for "liability policy or certified motor vehicle liability" preceding "policy" in the second sentence.