New Mexico § 67-12-6 - Outdoor advertising; acquisition; compensation; removal

§ 67-12-6. Outdoor advertising; acquisition; compensation; removal

A. The commission may acquire by agreement or condemnation all outdoor advertising

and property rights pertaining thereto. The commission may so remove the outdoor advertising if at the time of the acquisition: (1) the outdoor advertising bears the requisite permit, if any; (2) the owner of the outdoor advertising has timely paid all permit fees, past and

present, if any, required in connection with the erection and maintenance thereof; (3) the outdoor advertising conforms with standards, specifications and requirements

contained in regulations promulgated by the commission; and (4) the outdoor advertising was lawfully in existence on the effective date of the

Highway Beautification Act and has continued to so exist, or was lawfully erected

subsequent to the effective date. For the purpose of this paragraph, any outdoor advertising in existence on or after

November 6, 1978, that was erected prior to November 18, 1971 under any permit or

conditional permit issued by the state highway department shall be considered to be

lawfully erected. For all purposes the effective date of the New Mexico Highway Beautification Act

shall be March 15, 1971. The condemnation shall be exercised by eminent domain in the manner provided by law,

and each interested party shall have the right to a separate trial as to the respective

interests involved. B. Whenever outdoor advertising and property rights pertaining thereto are acquired

by the commission pursuant to Subsection A of this section: (1) the owner of the outdoor advertising shall be paid just compensation by the commission

equal to the fair market value of the outdoor advertising which is to be deemed a

trade fixture; and (2) the owner of the land upon which the outdoor advertising is located shall be paid

just compensation equal to the value of his right to have the outdoor advertising

erected and maintained on the land. C. The right to compensation as provided in Subsection B of this section shall not

be affected solely by the failure of any outdoor advertising to conform to standards,

specifications and requirements contained in regulations promulgated by the commission

relating to any subject other than permits or permit fees unless the commission has

given notice by certified mail to the owner of the land upon which the outdoor advertising

is located, and to the owner of the outdoor advertising if his name appears thereon,

advising of the failure to conform and ordering that the outdoor advertising be made

to so conform or be removed within thirty days from the date of such notice. If the failure to conform is corrected within the thirty days, then the failure

to conform shall be deemed cured for all purposes; if, however, the defect is not

corrected within the thirty days, the commission may thereafter remove the outdoor

advertising at the expense of the owner of the outdoor advertising without any compensation

whatsoever. This subsection specifically does not apply in any manner to permit fees, and no

notice whatsoever shall be required in connection with the permit fees. D. Compensation shall not include any element of damages which is not subject to federal

aid participation under the federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965, 1 as has been or may be hereafter amended or superseded, or otherwise. E. In any case where outdoor advertising has been removed under the Highway Beautification

Act, and the removal is compensable under that act, but the commission has not paid

just compensation or instituted condemnation proceedings therefor, the owner of the

outdoor advertising, or the owner of the land upon which it is located, or both, may

bring actions against the commission as provided in Section 42-1-23 NMSA 1978 , for recovery of such compensation. F. All outdoor advertising other than that meeting all the requirements of Subsection

A of this section is declared to be a public nuisance and in contravention of law. Therefore and otherwise, the commission may remove or cause the removal of all outdoor

advertising other than that meeting all the requirements of Subsection A of this section

which removal shall be without any compensation whatsoever and at the expense of the

owner of the outdoor advertising. G. Removal of outdoor advertising by or at the request of the commission, its agents

or employees in compliance with the Highway Beautification Act does not subject such

removal or the persons performing it to criminal prosecution or give rise to any liability

to any person or entity for the injury, loss or destruction of any property which

occurs in connection with the removal. 1

23 U.S.C.A. § 136.