N.M. Stat. § 3-1-2 (2026)

As used in the Municipal Code:

    A. "acquire" or "acquisition" means purchase, construct, accept or any combination
of purchasing, constructing or accepting;

    B. "business" means any person, occupation, profession, trade, pursuit, corporation,
institution, establishment, utility, article, commodity or device engaged in making a
profit, but does not include an employee;

   C. "census" means any enumeration of population of a municipality conducted
under the direction of the government of the United States, the state of New Mexico or
the municipality;

   D. "county" means the county in which the municipality or land is situated;
   E. "district court" means the district court of the district in which the municipality or
land is situated;

    F. "governing body" means the city council or city commission of a city, the board of
trustees of a town or village, the council of incorporated counties and the board of
county commissioners of H class counties;

   G. "municipal" or "municipality" means any incorporated city, town or village,
whether incorporated under general act, special act or special charter, incorporated
counties and H class counties;

    H. "municipal utility" means sewer facilities, water facilities, gas facilities, electric
facilities, storm water facilities, generating facilities or any interest in jointly owned
generating facilities owned by a municipality and serving the public. A municipality that
owns both electric facilities and any interest in jointly owned generating facilities may, by
ordinance, designate such interest in jointly owned generating facilities as part of its
electric facilities. Generating facilities shall be considered as part of a municipality's
electric facilities unless the municipality designates, by ordinance, the generating
facilities as a separate municipal utility, such designation being conclusive subject to
any existing property rights or contract rights;

   I. "public ground" means any real property owned or leased by a municipality;

    J. "publish" or "publication" means printing in a newspaper that maintains an office
in the municipality and is of general circulation within the municipality or, if such
newspaper is a nondaily paper that will not be circulated to the public in time to meet
publication requirements or if there is no newspaper that maintains an office in the
municipality and is of general circulation within the municipality, then "publish" or
"publication" means posting in six public places within the municipality on the first day
that publication is required in a newspaper that maintains an office in the municipality
and is of general circulation within the municipality. One of the public places where
posting shall be made is the office of the municipal clerk, who shall maintain the posting
during the length of time necessary to comply with the provisions relating to the number
of times publication is required in a newspaper of general circulation within the
municipality. The municipal clerk may, in addition to posting, publish one or more times
in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality;

   K. "qualified elector" means any person who is a resident of the municipality and is
registered to vote under the provisions of the Election Code [Chapter 1 NMSA 1978].
Persons who would otherwise be qualified electors if land on which they reside is
annexed to a municipality shall be deemed to be qualified electors:

       (1)   upon the effective date of the municipal ordinance effectuating the terms
of the annexation as certified by the board of arbitration pursuant to Section 3-7-10
NMSA 1978;
         (2)     upon thirty days after the filing of an order of annexation by the municipal
boundary commission pursuant to Sections 3-7-15 and 3-7-16 NMSA 1978 if no appeal
is filed or, if an appeal is filed, upon the filing of a nonappealable court order effectuating
the annexation; or

     (3)    upon thirty days after the filing of an ordinance pursuant to Section 3-7-17
NMSA 1978 if no appeal is filed or, if an appeal is filed, upon the filing of a
nonappealable court order effectuating the annexation;

    L. "revenue producing project" means any municipally owned self-liquidating
projects that furnish public services to a municipality and its residents, including but not
necessarily limited to public buildings; facilities and equipment for the collection or
disposal of trash, refuse or garbage; swimming pools; golf courses and other
recreational facilities; cemeteries or mausoleums or both; airports; off-street parking
garages; and transportation centers, which may include but are not limited to office
facilities and customary terminal facilities for airlines, trains, monorails, subways,
intercity and intracity buses and taxicabs. "Revenue producing project" does not mean a
municipal utility as defined in Subsection H of this section;

    M. "street" means any thoroughfare that can accommodate pedestrian or vehicular
traffic, is open to the public and is under the control of the municipality;

   N. "warrant" means a warrant, check or other negotiable instrument issued by a
municipality in payment for goods or services acquired by the municipality or for the
payment of a debt incurred by the municipality;

    O. "mayor" means the chief executive officer of municipalities having the mayor-
council form of government. In municipalities having other forms of government, the
presiding officer of the governing body and the official head of the government, without
executive powers, may be designated mayor by the governing body. Wherever the
Municipal Code requires an act to be performed by the mayor with the consent of the
governing body, in municipalities not having the mayor-council form of government, the
act shall be performed by the governing body;

   P. "generating facility" means any facility located within or outside the state
necessary or incidental to the generation or production of electric power and energy by
any means and includes:

       (1)    any facility necessary or incidental to the acquisition of fuel of any kind for
the production of electric power and energy, including the acquisition of fuel deposits,
the extraction of fuel from natural deposits, the conversion of fuel for use in another
form, the burning of fuel in place and the transportation and storage of such fuel; and

      (2)     any facility necessary or incidental to the transfer of the electric power and
energy to the municipality, including without limitation step-down substations or other
facilities used to reduce the voltage in a transmission line in order that electric power
and energy may be distributed by the municipality to its retail customers;

   Q. "jointly owned generating facility" means any generating facility in which a
municipality owns any undivided or other interest, including without limitation any right to
entitlement or capacity; and

    R. "joint participant" means any municipality in New Mexico or any other state; any
public entity incorporated under the laws of any other state having the power to enter
into the type of transaction contemplated by the Municipal Electric Generation Act [3-24-
11 to 3-24-18 NMSA 1978]; the state of New Mexico; the United States; Indian tribes;
and any public electric utility, investor-owned electric utility or electric cooperative
subject to general or limited regulation by the public regulation commission or a similar
commission of any other state.

History: 1953 Comp., § 14-1-2, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1967, ch. 223, § 1;
1969, ch. 251, § 1; 1972, ch. 81, § 1; 1973, ch. 272, § 1; 1979, ch. 260, § 1; 1985, ch.
208, § 1; 1987, ch. 323, § 1; 1993, ch. 282, § 1; 2019, ch. 212, § 178; 2025, ch. 52, § 2.

                                     ANNOTATIONS

Cross references. — For requirements and procedure for incorporation of a
municipality, see 3-2-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For incorporation of municipalities under special act, see 3-3-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For changing name of municipality, see 3-6-1 and 3-6-2 NMSA 1978.

For restrictions on municipal indebtedness, see N.M. Const., art IX, § 12.

For voting "precinct", see 3-8-2 NMSA 1978.

For commission-manager form of government applied to municipalities over 1,000
population, see 3-14-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For municipal charters, see 3-15-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For taking a census, see 3-18-9 NMSA 1978.

For public utilities, see 3-23-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For establishment of H class counties, see 4-44-3 NMSA 1978.

For requirement for publication of legal notice or advertisement, see 14-11-2 NMSA
1978.
For publication of proceedings of municipal boards, see 14-11-11 NMSA 1978.

The 2025 amendment, effective June 20, 2025, included "storm water facilities" within
the definition of "municipal utility" as used in the Municipal Code; and in Subsection H,
after "electric facilities" added "storm water facilities".

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, revised the definition of "qualified
elector" as used in the Municipal Code, and made certain technical amendments; in
Subsection K, after "means any person", deleted "whose affidavit of voter registration
has been filed by the county clerk, who is registered to vote in a general election
precinct established by the board of county commissioners that is wholly or partly within
the municipal boundaries and", and after "resident of the municipality", added "and is
registered to vote under the provisions of the Election Code"; in Subsection L, after
"Revenue producing", deleted "facilities" and added "project"; and in Subsection R, after
"regulation by the", deleted "New Mexico", and after "public", deleted "utility" and added
"regulation".

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, substituted "public utility commission"
for "public service commission" in Subsection R and made minor stylistic changes
throughout the section.

The 1987 amendment, effective June 19, 1987, in Subsection J inserted "if such
newspaper is a nondaily paper which will not be circulated to the public in time to meet
publication requirements" following "and is of general circulation within the municipality
or"; in Subsection L substituted "as defined in Subsection H of this section" for "as
herein defined"; and made minor changes in language and punctuation throughout the
section.

"Publish" construed. — The general notice requirements of Subsection J do not apply
to govern proceedings of the municipal boundary commission. Cox v. Mun. Boundary
Comm'n, 1998-NMCA-025, 124 N.M. 709, 954 P.2d 1186, cert. denied, 125 N.M. 145,
958 P.2d 103.

"Village" construed. — In construing the word "village", as used in former section
governing municipal liquor sales, the court was not justified in giving it a meaning which
will impair the legislative intent. State ex rel. Lorenzino v. County Comm'rs, 1915-
NMSC-010, 20 N.M. 67, 145 P. 1083.

Governing body of a municipality having a mayor-council form of government is
either the council or board of trustees. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-148.

Newspaper "office" defined. — In the case of a newspaper, "office" means a place
where classified ads may be placed, where subscriptions may be placed and where
general information relative to the newspaper may be obtained. 1965 Op. Att'y Gen. No.
65-85.
Requirements and qualifications for voting at municipal elections are the same as
those for general elections. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-33.

Residence outside municipality disqualifies one from voting. — A person whose
residence is actually outside the exterior limits or boundaries of a municipality is not
qualified to vote in municipal elections. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-60.