The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- New Mexico
- Level
- Court
- Authority
- Superintending control and original jurisdiction, N.M. Const. art. VI, § 3; Public Health Emergency Response Act § 12-10A-19; Public Health Act §§ 24-1-3, -15, -21
- Issued
- 2020-11-05 Nov. 5, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-11-05
- End
- standing precedent (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since Nov. 5, 2020 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Business closureGathering capStanding duty
- Addressees
- businesses and persons subject to the public health orders
- Character
- adjudication
- Collection
- Standing duties: New Mexico DUT-NM
Operative words
Did New Mexico's Legislature empower Petitioners to enforce public health emergency orders restricting business operations through the civil penalty provision contained in Section 12-10A-19 of the Public Health Emergency Response Act (PHERA), NMSA 1978, §§ 12-10A-1 to -19 (2003, as amended through 2015)? As we explain below, the answer is 'yes.'
Penalty
Civil administrative penalty up to $5,000 for each violation (§ 12-10A-19), cumulative with the petty misdemeanor of § 24-1-21
What it required
Confirmed that every business subject to a public health order was exposed to a $5,000 civil administrative penalty for each violation, that the Secretary was 'authorized (under the PHERA and the PHA, concurrently) to issue emergency orders forbidding gatherings of people to control and abate the transmission of COVID-19 in locales such as restaurants' (¶ 30), and that the penalty provision reaches 'orders restricting the operation of businesses' (¶ 40); the opinion records the notices of contemplated action at $5,000 per day against Jalisco Cafe, Arroyo Vino and Papa's Pawn (¶ 5). Character as recorded: adjudication (order_penalty layer).
Retrieval noteOfficial slip opinion from the New Mexico Compilation Commission (NMOneSource); Opinion Number 2021-NMSC-006, Filing Date November 5, 2020. The Court quotes § 12-10A-19 in full at ¶ 18 and § 24-1-21 at ¶ 20.