New Mexico Attorney General Reports and Opinions V. 2014

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2014 New Mexico Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2014)

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Attorney General of New Mexico

GARY K. KING ALBERT J. LAMA
Attorney General February 17, 2014 Chief Deputy Attorney General

OPINION
OF Opinion No. 14-01
GARY K. KING
Attorney General

BY: Luis G. Carrasco
Assistant Attorney General

TO: The Honorable Michael S. Sanchez
New Mexico State Senator
03 Bunton Road
Belen, NM 87002

QUESTION:

Do New Mexico counties have the authority to charge utility companies a fee for the use of
rights-of-way pursuant to any legal principle or law, including NMSA 1978, Section 62-1-3?

CONCLUSION:

Yes. New Mexico counties are authorized to charge utility companies a fee for the use of rights-
of-way pursuant to New Mexico statutes and case law.

ANALYSIS:

New Mexico law evinces a clear intent to permit counties to assess both private and public utility
companies a fee for the reasonable actual expenses incurred in granting rights-of-way for the use
of public highways, streets and alleys in unincorporated towns, and places certain limitations on
the conferral of such rights-of-way. These rights-of-way are typically known as franchises.
NMSA 1978, Section 62-1-3 (1987) provides:

The boards of county commissioners of the several counties are authorized to
permit corporations organized pursuant to Section 62-1-1 NMSA 1978, public
utilities under the Public Utility Act and companies that provide public
telecommunications service pursuant to the New Mexico Telecommunications
Act to use the public highways and the streets and alleys of unincorporated towns
for their pipes, poles, wires, cables, conduits, towers, transformer stations and

P.O. Drawer 1508 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-1508 (505) 827-6000 www.nmag.gov