Recently, the Rio Grande Foundation and the New Mexico Alliance for Legal Reform asked New Mexicans to find the craziest laws from around the state and submit them for cash and prizes. The idea behind the contest is to highlight the political and sometimes absurd nature of laws and the fact that new laws pass almost every day, but old laws rarely go away and are difficult to change. A total of three grand prize winners and five honorable mention entries were awarded cash prizes. They are listed below.
Grand Prize Winners:
Grand Prize Winner No. 1:
Shad Solis is awarded a $250 prize for his submission of New Mexico State Statute No. 30-21-5, titled “Improper use of official anthems “which bans singing, playing or rendering “The Star Spangled Banner” or “Oh Fair New Mexico” in any public place or assemblage except as an entire separate composition or number. Convicted violators are guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
Laws such as these are frivolous, seldom, if ever, enforced and serve no useful purposes in furthering the progress of our democratic republic. The law as written requires the entire composition to be performed. “The Star Spangled Banner” has four verses and “Oh Fair New Mexico” has three. Each time only one verse is performed, is the law being violated? Are District Attorneys and the police really expected to pursue alleged offenders? What would you call the TV show “CSI Karaoke”?
Grand Prize Winner No. 2
Robert Alston is awarded $250 for his entry pointing out the lunacy of a portion of the New Mexico income tax law. This law allows New Mexico to levy penalties and interest for underpayment of estimated income tax. The law which has been on the books for a decade was only aggressively enforced in the last year. The enforcement was done in Barney Fife fashion, when Taxation and Revenue got its regulatory bullet out of its pocket without regard to the impact of thousands of New Mexicans, and more importantly, without communicating the change in policy and without providing an easy method for the law abiding citizens of New Mexico to comply.
Governor Bill Richardson recently instructed the Taxation and Revenue department to relent and refund recently charged penalties. The department, however, vowed to return to its policy in 2008 with no excuses allowed.
The New Mexico law which loosely follows and set of IRS rules of the same ilk, is burdensome and produced many irrational outcomes such as being required to pay withholding taxes on money which is not yet earned. This law needs to be dramatically restructured in the upcoming legislative session, or better yet eliminated.
Grand Prize Winner No. 3
If a bad law poorly implemented falls in the bureaucratic forest and nobody cares, can the sound of the taxpayers still be heard? David Bruner is awarded $250 for his submission of what can happen when you cross a poor law with an inflexible bureaucracy. Per the Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office, if your December property tax payment is processed as late, you will (quite correctly) be assessed a penalty fee.
However, it is against the law for them to notify you that your payment was late and you were penalized and owe additional money. Therefore when you send in your May property tax payment, they subtract the penalty from it first. Because the penalty was subtracted first, your property tax payment will be insufficient and you will be assessed another late payment penalty. That’s the LAW! Where is a modern day Reies López Tijerina to defend the poor oppressed property tax payers of New Mexico when you need one?
Honorable Mention Winners:
Honorable Mention Winner No. 1
Steffani Walsh is awarded a $50 prize for her submission of a law that dates back to the original Constitution of the State of New Mexico, adopted January 21, 1911. In addition to loosely worded voter eligibility requirements, part of this New Mexico law requires school elections to be held at different times than other elections.
The result of holding school elections at different times than other elections is a giant waste of money. Assuming there was once a good reason for this law in 1911, we can’t imagine a reason for continuing this part of the law today, well, at least a reason that benefits the taxpayers and citizens of New Mexico as a whole.
Honorable Mention Winner No. 2
Josh Gonze is awarded a $50 prize for highlighting several of the shortcomings of New Mexico’s child support laws. Unlike nearly every other state, New Mexico child support increases to infinity at a flat 11% of gross income for one child. Most other states legislate a ceiling, like Nevada's $800 per month, or require the court to use judicial discretion once income reaches a certain level, typically $100,000.
In addition, child support is automatically granted upon request by the custodial parent, even if the non-custodial parent has been voluntarily paying 100% of the costs of supporting the child and accepts his or her responsibility to provide the child’s needs. Furthermore, child support is automatic even if the custodial parent does not accept her responsibility for paying for the child’s needs and takes the child support to buy luxuries for themselves, leaving the child to starve.
The result is that the non-custodial parent pays regardless of the actions of the custodial parent. And if child support payments don’t actually go to support the child’s needs it is both “Let them eat cake” and “Tough Cookies”.
Honorable Mention No. 3
Melanie Drangmeister is awarded $50 for submitting the New Mexico law which highlights the growing problem with mathematics skills, at least among New Mexico legislators.
Under New Mexico, real estate law an associate broker must be at least 18 years old. A qualifying broker must also be at least 18 years old, and have at two years of experience as an associate broker. Using the formula, x=18+2, with x being the minimum age of a qualifying broker, it would appear that you would probably have to be at least 20 years old to be a qualifying broker. (We apologize for the use of algebra in a press release.)
Despite our tongue being firmly planted in our cheek, this a great example of the absence of common sense on how laws are written in our state. Experience writing instructions for income tax forms appears to be a common qualification among those who write legislation.
Honorable Mention No. 4
Amada Fillmore is awarded $50 for locating New Mexico Statue 30-8-12(d) which among other things makes it is illegal to spit “upon or in any public carrier, public sidewalk or roadway”.
We wholeheartedly agree that behavior of this sort is not desirable, but is a law at this level of detail really necessary even if you aren’t the sort of person who likes to take a pinch of smokeless tobacco and put it between your cheek and gums?
Honorable Mention No. 5
Shona Maria Lorenzo Ortega is awarded $50 for her discovery of an obscure set of laws called “onion laws” designed to protect Oh Fair New Mexico’s female population. This White Horse, New Mexico law states, “No married woman is allowed to eat onions on the Sabbath unless she is properly looked after.” Evidently onions and garlic were once considered to be aphrodisiacs.
