A. In addition to the authority granted in Section 66-7-413 NMSA 1978, the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety may issue special permits authorizing an increase of up to twenty-five percent in axle weight for liquid hauling tank vehicles whenever the liquid hauling tank vehicles would have to haul less than a full tank under the maximum weights authorized in Sections 66-7-409 and 66-7-410 NMSA 1978. A special permit under this section may be issued for a single trip or for a year. The fee for the permits shall be thirty-five dollars ($35.00) for a single-trip permit and one hundred twenty dollars ($120) for an annual permit. Revenue from the permit fee shall be used to build, maintain, repair or reconstruct the highways and bridges of this state. Revenue from the permit shall be collected for the department of transportation and transferred to the state road fund.

B. The special permits authorized by this section shall not be valid for transportation of excessive weights on the interstate system as currently defined in federal law or as that system may be defined in the future. A special permit issued pursuant to this section shall not be valid for gross vehicle weights in excess of eighty-six thousand four hundred pounds or for a combination vehicle.

C. If the federal highway administration of the United States department of transportation gives official notice that money will be withheld or that this section violates the grandfather provision of 23 USCA 127, the secretary may withdraw all special permits and discontinue issuance of all special permits authorized in this section until such time that final determination is made. If the final determination allows the state to issue the special permits without sanction of funds or weight tables, the secretary shall reissue the special permits previously withdrawn and make the special permits available pursuant to this section.

History: Laws 2001, ch. 20, § 2; 2003 (1st S.S.), ch. 3, § 22; 2015, ch. 3, § 39.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, provided the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety with the authority to issue special permits for certain vehicles to carry excessive weight, as part of the reorganization of the department of public safety; in Subsection A, after "NMSA 1978, the", deleted "motor transportation" and added "New Mexico state police", and after "weights authorized in", changed "Section" to Sections".

The 2003 (1st S.S.) amendment, effective July 1, 2004, added the last sentence in Subsection A; in the second sentence of Subsection B, substituted "a" for "no" and inserted "not" following "shall"; and in the the last sentence of Subsection C, deleted "then" preceding "the secretary".