N.M. Stat. § 13-1-98 (2026)

The provisions of the Procurement Code shall not apply to:

    A. procurement of items of tangible personal property or services by a state agency
or a local public body from a state agency, a local public body or external procurement
unit except as otherwise provided in Sections 13-1-135 through 13-1-137 NMSA 1978;

   B. procurement of tangible personal property or services for the governor's mansion
and grounds;

    C. printing and duplicating contracts involving materials that are required to be filed
in connection with proceedings before administrative agencies or state or federal courts;

   D. purchases of publicly provided or publicly regulated gas, electricity, water, sewer
and refuse collection services;

    E. purchases of books, periodicals, instructional materials and training materials in
printed, digital or electronic format from the publishers, designated public-education-
department-approved instructional material depositories or copyright holders thereof
and purchases of print, digital or electronic format library materials by public, school and
state libraries for access by the public;

   F. travel or shipping by common carrier or by private conveyance or to meals and
lodging;
   G. purchase of livestock at auction rings or to the procurement of animals to be
used for research and experimentation or exhibit;

   H. contracts with businesses for public school transportation services;

   I. procurement of tangible personal property or services, as defined by Sections
13-1-87 and 13-1-93 NMSA 1978, by the corrections industries division of the
corrections department pursuant to rules adopted by the corrections industries
commission, which shall be reviewed by the purchasing division of the general services
department prior to adoption;

   J. purchases not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) consisting of magazine
subscriptions, web-based or electronic subscriptions, conference registration fees and
other similar purchases where prepayments are required;

   K. municipalities having adopted home rule charters and having enacted their own
purchasing ordinances;

   L. the issuance, sale and delivery of public securities pursuant to the applicable
authorizing statute, with the exception of bond attorneys and general financial
consultants;

   M. contracts entered into by a local public body with a private independent
contractor for the operation, or provision and operation, of a jail pursuant to Sections 33-
3-26 and 33-3-27 NMSA 1978;

   N. contracts for maintenance of grounds and facilities at highway rest stops and
other employment opportunities, excluding those intended for the direct care and
support of persons with handicaps, entered into by state agencies with private,
nonprofit, independent contractors who provide services to persons with handicaps;

   O. contracts and expenditures for services or items of tangible personal property to
be paid or compensated by money or other property transferred to New Mexico law
enforcement agencies by the United States department of justice drug enforcement
administration;

   P. contracts for retirement and other benefits pursuant to Sections 22-11-47 through
22-11-52 NMSA 1978;

   Q. contracts with professional entertainers;

     R. contracts and expenditures for legal subscription and research services and
litigation expenses in connection with proceedings before administrative agencies or
state or federal courts, including experts, mediators, court reporters, process servers
and witness fees, but not including attorney contracts;
   S. contracts for service relating to the design, engineering, financing, construction
and acquisition of public improvements undertaken in improvement districts pursuant to
Subsection L of Section 3-33-14.1 NMSA 1978 and in county improvement districts
pursuant to Subsection L of Section 4-55A-12.1 NMSA 1978;

   T. works of art for museums or for display in public buildings or places;

    U. contracts entered into by a local public body with a person, firm, organization,
corporation or association or a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section
11 of the constitution of New Mexico for the operation and maintenance of a hospital
pursuant to Chapter 3, Article 44 NMSA 1978, lease or operation of a county hospital
pursuant to the Hospital Funding Act [Chapter 4, Article 48B NMSA 1978] or operation
and maintenance of a hospital pursuant to the Special Hospital District Act [Chapter 4,
Article 48A NMSA 1978];

   V. purchases of advertising in all media, including radio, television, print and
electronic;

   W. purchases of promotional goods intended for resale by the tourism department;

   X. procurement of printing, publishing and distribution services for materials
produced and intended for resale by the cultural affairs department;

    Y. procurement by or through the public education department from the federal
department of education relating to parent training and information centers designed to
increase parent participation, projects and initiatives designed to improve outcomes for
students with disabilities and other projects and initiatives relating to the administration
of improvement strategy programs pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act; provided that the exemption applies only to procurement of services not
to exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000);

    Z. procurement of services from community rehabilitation programs or qualified
individuals pursuant to the State Use Act [13-1C-1 to 13-1C-7 NMSA 1978];

   AA.        purchases of products or services for eligible persons with disabilities
pursuant to the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973;

    BB.       procurement, by either the department of health or Grant county or both,
of tangible personal property, services or construction that are exempt from the
Procurement Code pursuant to Section 9-7-6.5 NMSA 1978;

   CC.        contracts for investment advisory services, investment management
services or other investment-related services entered into by the educational retirement
board, the state investment officer or the retirement board created pursuant to the
Public Employees Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 11 NMSA 1978];
    DD.     the purchase for resale by the state fair commission of feed and other
items necessary for the upkeep of livestock;

    EE.       contracts entered into by the crime victims reparation commission to
distribute federal grants to assist victims of crime, including grants from the federal
Victims of Crime Act of 1984 and the federal Violence Against Women Act of 1994;

   FF.procurement by or through the early childhood education and care department of
early pre-kindergarten and pre-kindergarten services purchased pursuant to the Pre-
Kindergarten Act [Chapter 32A, Article 23 NMSA 1978];

   GG.       procurement of services of commissioned advertising sales
representatives for New Mexico magazine;

   HH.        contracts entered into by the forestry division of the energy, minerals and
natural resources department to distribute federal grants to nongovernmental entities
and individuals selected through an application process conducted by the United States
department of agriculture, the United States department of the interior or any division or
bureau thereof for programs for wildfire prevention or protection, urban forestry, forest
and watershed restoration and protection, reforestation or economic development
projects to advance the use of trees and wood biomass for hazardous fuel reduction;
and

   II. procurements exempt from the Procurement Code as otherwise provided by law.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 65, § 71; 1987, ch. 6, § 1; 1987, ch. 348, § 2; 1990, ch. 73, § 1;
1991, ch. 78, § 1; 1991, ch. 118, § 1; 1994, ch. 143, § 2; 1999, ch. 258, § 2; 2001, ch.
291, § 8; 2001, ch. 292, § 3; 2001, ch. 305, § 28; 2001, ch. 312, § 13; 2004, ch. 62, § 1;
2005, ch. 23, § 2; 2005, ch. 317, §2; 2005, ch. 318, § 1; 2005, ch. 334, § 8; 2007, ch.
55, § 1; 2007, ch. 345, § 1; 2008, ch. 4, § 2; 2008, ch. 70, § 2; 2009, ch. 231, § 1; 2013,
ch. 40, § 1; 2013, ch. 70, § 6; 2013, ch. 71, § 1; 2015, ch. 32, § 1; 2019, ch. 48, § 13;
2019, ch. 63, § 1; 2023, ch. 149, § 2; 2023, ch. 174, § 1.

                                     ANNOTATIONS

2023 Multiple Amendments. — Laws 2023, ch. 149, § 2 and Laws 2023, ch. 174, § 1,
both effective June 16, 2023, enacted different amendments to this section that can be
reconciled. Pursuant to 12-1-8 NMSA 1978, Laws 2023, ch. 174, § 1 as the last act
signed by the governor is set out above and incorporates both amendments. The
amendments enacted by Laws 2023, ch. 149, § 2 and Laws 2023, ch. 174, § 1 are
described below. To view the session laws in their entirety, see the 2023 session laws
on NMOneSource.com.

The nature of the difference between the amendments is that Laws 2023, ch. 149, § 2,
provided exemptions from the Procurement Code for certain purchases of instructional
materials, and Laws 2023, ch. 174, § 1, provided exemptions from the Procurement
Code for contracts entered into by the forestry division of the energy, minerals and
natural resources department to distribute federal grants to nongovernmental entities
and individuals selected by the federal government for programs related to forestry.

Laws 2023, ch. 174, § 1, effective June 16, 2023, provided exemptions from the
Procurement Code for contracts entered into by the forestry division of the energy,
minerals and natural resources department to distribute federal grants to
nongovernmental entities and individuals selected by the federal government for
programs related to forestry; and added a new Subsection HH and redesignated former
Subsection HH as Subsection II.

Laws 2023, ch. 149, § 2, effective June 16, 2023, provided exemptions from the
Procurement Code for certain purchases of instructional materials; and in Subsection E,
after "periodicals,", added "instructional materials", after "materials in printed", added
"digital", and after "publishers", added "designated public-education-department-
approved instructional material depositories".

2019 Amendments. — Laws 2019, ch. 48, § 13, effective July 1, 2020, provided an
exemption from the Procurement Code for purchases by or through the early childhood
education care department of early pre-kindergarten services pursuant to the Pre-
Kindergarten Act; and in Subsection FF, after "procurement by or through the", deleted
"children, youth and families" and added "early childhood education and care", and after
"department of", added "early pre-kindergarten and".

Laws 2019, ch. 63, § 1, effective June 14, 2019, provided exemptions from the
Procurement Code for certain library materials and publishing and distribution services
for material produced and intended for resale by the cultural affairs department; in
Subsection E, after "copyright holders thereof", added "and purchases of print, digital or
electronic format library materials by public, school and state libraries for access by the
public"; and in Subsection X, after "printing", added "publishing and distribution".

The 2015 amendment, effective June 19, 2015, exempted the procurement of services
of commissioned advertising sales representatives for New Mexico magazine from the
provisions of the Procurement Code; in Subsection EE, after "Act", added "of 1994"; and
added Subsection GG, and redesignated the succeeding subsection accordingly.

The 2013 amendment, effective June 14, 2013, in Subsection E, added "and training
materials in printed or electronic format"; added Subsection FF; in Subsection J, at the
beginning of the sentence, deleted "minor", changed "five thousand dollars ($5,000)" to
"ten thousand dollars ($10,000)" and added "web-based or electronic subscriptions";
and in Subsection R, added "legal subscription and research services and".

The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, added Subsection EE.
The 2008 amendment, effective February 29, 2008, exempted the procurement of
tangible personal property, services or construction to replace the Fort Bayard medical
center.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, added Subsection Z to exempt
procurement from community rehabilitation programs or qualified individuals pursuant to
the State Use Act; and added Subsection AA to exempt purchases of products for
eligible persons with disabilities pursuant to the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The 2004 amendments, effective July 1, 2004, added Subsections T through X.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, added Subsection S.

The 1999 amendment, effective June 18, 1999, substituted "commission" for
"industries" in Subsection I, inserted "not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000)" in
Subsection J, and added Subsection R.

The 1994 amendment, effective July 1, 1994, added Subsection Q and made related
stylistic changes.

The 1991 amendment, effective July 1, 1991, added Subsections O and P.

Applicability. — When a local public body acquires property or services from a joint
procurement agency of local public bodies, the acquisition is not subject to any
provisions of the Procurement Code except those set forth in Sections 13-1-135, 13-1-
136, and 13-1-137; on the other hand, Section 13-1-98A does not exempt the
procurement of goods or services by the joint agency from an outsider. State ex rel.
Educ. Assessments Sys. v. Coop. Educ. Servs., 1993-NMCA-024, 115 N.M. 196, 848
P.2d 1123.

Applicability of section to school districts. — The provision of Section 22-5-4N
NMSA 1978 of the [Public] School Code, requiring that contracts for expenditure of
money be made in accordance with the Procurement Code, requires school boards to
contract according to all but two sections of the entire Procurement Code; this means
that all bidding requirements of the Code, including the exemptions in this section, apply
to school district contracts. Morningstar Water Users Ass'n v. Farmington Mun. Sch.
Dist. No. 5, 1995-NMSC-052, 120 N.M. 307, 901 P.2d 725.

Tariff permitting utility to recover costs of relocation required by a local ordinance
did not violate the New Mexico Procurement Code by failing to provide for the seeking
of bids by local governments because it fell within the specific statutory exception for
purchases of utility facilities. City of Albuquerque v. New Mexico Pub. Regulation
Comm'n, 2003-NMSC-028, 134 N.M. 472, 79 P.3d 297.

Sale of water services by municipality to school district. — A municipality and a
school district fall within the definition of "local public bodies" in Section 13-1-67 NMSA
1978, and, thus, a transaction involving the purchase of water services by the school
district from the water utility of the municipality is within the exemptions of Subsections
A and D because the municipality is a local public body selling water services to another
local public body and the school district is purchasing "publicly provided" water.
Morningstar Water Users Ass'n v. Farmington Mun. Sch. Dist. No. 5, 1995-NMSC-052,
120 N.M. 307, 901 P.2d 725.

Emergency requirements not applicable to exempt transaction. — The emergency
provisions of Section 13-1-127 NMSA 1978 did not apply to a contract for the purchase
of water services by a school district from the water utility of a municipality which was
within the exemptions contained in Subsections A and D of this section. Morningstar
Water Users Ass'n v. Farmington Mun. Sch. Dist. No. 5, 1995-NMSC-052, 120 N.M.
307, 901 P.2d 725.

Workers’ compensation administration case manager’s fee not exempt as a
litigation expense. — The services provided by a case manager under the worker’s
compensation administration (WCA) are not incurred in connection with litigation. A
WCA case manager’s fees are not an expense of litigation pursuant to Subsection R of
this section, but are incurred following a determination that a worker is injured or
disabled and entitled to benefits under the WCA, and ongoing coordination of the
healthcare services is required. Trace v. University of N.M. Hosp., 2015-NMCA-083.

In a workers’ compensation case, where the case manager’s contract with the workers’
compensation administration, to coordinate health care services provided to worker,
expired, the workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) erred in finding that the case
manager’s services constituted a litigation expense exempt from the Procurement
Code, and the WCJ was without statutory authority to order that the case manager
continue providing services as worker’s case manager in the absence of a contract
under the Procurement Code. Trace v. University of N.M. Hosp., 2015-NMCA-083.

Prepayment prohibition applies to tangible personal property, services and
construction. — Each subsection of 13-1-158 NMSA 1978 governing payment for
purchases, including the prohibition on prepayment, specifically references "services" in
addition to construction or items of tangible personal property, and therefore a central
purchasing office or procuring agency is prohibited from prepaying for the purchase of
any service or construction, unless prepayment is authorized by exemption of the
purchase under 13-1-98 NMSA 1978. 2024 Op. Ethics Comm'n No. 2024-04.

The Procurement Code does not allow partial payment prior to certification of
receipt of services, construction or items of tangible property. — Section 13-1-
158(A) NMSA 1978 prohibits the payment of any warrant, check or negotiable
instrument unless an exception applies or the agency certifies the services,
construction, or items of tangible property have been received and meet specifications,
and therefore a partial payment prior to that certification of receipt would be an
impermissible payment under the plain language of the Procurement Code. 2024 Op.
Ethics Comm'n No. 2024-04.
Multi-year contracts are permissible, but must otherwise meet the Procurement
Code's specific conditions required for such agreements. — A procuring agency
may prepay for web-based and electronic subscriptions so long as the purchase is
under $10,000, and therefore prepayment of a multi-year contract for electronic
subscriptions not exceeding ten thousand dollars does not violate 13-1-158(A) NMSA
1978, while multi-year contracts exceeding ten thousand dollars, although permissible,
do not fall within the exemption specified in 13-1-98(J) NMSA 1978, and therefore a
procuring agency may not pay for the services prior to the agency's certification that the
services have been received and meet specifications. 2024 Op. Ethics Comm'n No.
2024-04.

The Procurement Code generally prohibits prepayment for the purchase of items
of tangible personal property. — Where the purchase of items of tangible personal
property is subject to the Procurement Code, there is a general rule against
prepayment. 2023 Op. Ethics Comm’n No. 2023-04.

A municipality’s purchase of a firetruck is not exempt from the Procurement
Code’s general rule against prepayment. — The Procurement Code generally
prohibits prepayment for the purchase of items of tangible personal property, 13-1-158
NMSA 1978, an exception of which are those purchases that are excluded from the
Procurement Code’s scope, and therefore where a municipality is considering
purchasing a firetruck, an item subject to the Procurement Code, under a statewide
price agreement with the National Association of State Procurement Officials, the
municipality may not prepay for the firetruck and may only pay for the truck after the
municipality’s central purchasing office certifies that the truck has been received and
meets the specifications that the municipality bargained for. Moreover, the fact that the
municipality could get a discount for prepayment and the fact that the vendor would
provide the municipality with a performance bond following the receipt of any
prepayment do not operate as exceptions to the Procurement Code’s general rule
against prepayment. 2023 Op. Ethics Comm’n No. 2023-04.

Self-dealing by non-state-employed council members does not violate the
Procurement Code. — The Procurement Code does not prohibit members of the New
Mexico council for purchasing from persons with disabilities (council) from voting to
approve a contract subject to the State Use Act, 13-1C-1 to 13-1C-7 NMSA 1978,
between a state agency or local public body and a council member or a company in
which the council member has a financial interest. Procurements under the State Use
Act are exempt from the requirements of the Procurement Code, and therefore the
Procurement Code's conflict of interest provisions do not prohibit a council member from
participating in an award of a contract subject to the State Use Act. 2020 Op. Ethics
Comm'n No. 2020-07.

Home rule municipality's sponsorship to planned parenthood of New Mexico
does not implicate the Procurement Code. — The Procurement Code, pursuant to
13-1-98(K) NMSA 1978, does not apply to municipalities having adopted home rule
charters and having enacted their own purchasing ordinances, and therefore, where the
Albuquerque city council passed a floor amendment to the city's operating budget bill,
which added $250,000 for a council-directed sponsorship to planned parenthood of New
Mexico, a private corporation, the Procurement Code was not implicated, because the
city of Albuquerque has adopted a home rule charter and has enacted its own
purchasing ordinance. The city's own procurement ordinance therefore governs all
purchasing transactions of the city, including a transaction between the city of
Albuquerque and planned parenthood of New Mexico, and shall serve to exempt the
city from all provisions of the New Mexico Procurement Code. 2022 Op. Ethics Comm'n
No. 2022-07.

Scope of exemption provision. — Only when centralized control was thought to be
harmful or unproductive of savings were exemptions allowed by the former Public
Purchases Act. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-87.

When public notice and competitive bidding required. — A professional legal
services contract in excess of $1,000 between a state agency and legislator may be
awarded only after public notice and competitive bidding. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-
23.

Attempt to add exemption. — Section 73-20-45H NMSA 1978 attempts to add an
exemption to the former State Purchasing Act by reference to that act. Properly the
State Purchasing Act should have been amended. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-110.

Effect. — Section 73-20-45H NMSA 1978, having the same object as and being prior
and repugnant to the former Public Purchases Act, is repealed by implication. 1967 Op.
Att'y Gen. No. 67-110.

Jail facilities exemptions. — Laws 1987, ch. 348, § 2 amended this section to permit
local public bodies to enter into contracts with an independent contractor for
construction and operation of a jail facility without competitive bidding. The financing
and design of a jail facility are also exempt from this article, as long as the local public
body does not have a direct contractual relationship with the parties responsible for
designing and financing the facility. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-47.

Contract for professional services of insurance agency exempt. — A contract
whereby an insurance agency would provide technical or professional services to the
central purchasing office of a local public body for a fee would have been exempt from
the former Public Purchases Act. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-135.

Sale of manual by state employee. — The Procurement Code does not apply to the
sale of a manual by a state employee to the New Mexico state department of Public
safety [public safety department], as long as the department purchases the manual from
the copyright holder. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-42.