Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
In accordance with the ULA, the board has authority to
impose penalties in disciplinary matters. The ULA allows discipline in many
forms including but not limited to fines, letters of reprimand, corrective
action plans, suspension, and revocation of license.
A. Formal letter of reprimand: The board
shall have discretionary authority to issue formal letters of reprimand or
warning instead of revocation or suspension. Issuance of formal letters of
reprimand shall be subject to the provisions of the ULA and shall be matters of
public record.
B. Prehearing
motions: The board may appoint a hearing officer to decide non- dispositive
motions filed prior to a hearing. Until such time as the board appoints a
hearing officer, the chair of the board shall serve as hearing
officer.
C. Settlement agreements:
Following the issuance of a notice of contemplated action, the board may enter
into a settlement agreement with the respondent as a means of resolving a
complaint.
D. Costs of disciplinary
proceedings: Licensees or applicants shall bear all costs of disciplinary
proceedings unless they are excused by the board from paying all or part of the
fees, or if they prevail at the hearing held pursuant to Section
61-1-3
NMSA 1978 of the ULA.
E. Uniform
licensing provisions: In accordance with Subsection G of Section
61-1-7
NMSA 1978 of the ULA, a licensee who directly or through an agent intimidates,
threatens, injures or takes any adverse action against a person for providing
information to the board shall be subject to disciplinary action.
F. License returned to the board: Any license
issued by the board must be returned to the board subsequent to revocation or
suspension. The item(s) listed must be returned in person or by certified mail
no later than 30 days after the suspension or revocation order to the
board.
G.
DISQUALIFYING
CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS: Convictions for any of the following offense, or
their equivalents in any other jurisdiction, are disqualifying criminal
convictions that may disqualify an applicant from receiving a retaining a
license or certificate by the board.
(1)
Physical harm to others:
(a) Section
30-2-1 NMSA
1978 "Murder";
(b) Section
30-2-3
NMSA 1978 "Manslaughter";
(c)
Section
30-3-1 NMSA
1978 "Assault";
(d) Section
30-3-4 NMSA
1978 "Battery";
(e) Section
30-6-1
NMSA 1978 "Abandonment or abuse if a child";
(f) Section
30-4-1 NMSA
1978 "Kidnapping";
(g) Section
30-4-3 NMSA
1978 "False imprisonment";
(h)
Section
30-9-19
NMSA 1978 "Sexual assault".
(2) Theft:
(a) Section
30-16-1 NMSA
1978 "Larceny";
(b) Section
30-16-24.1
NMSA 1978 "Theft of identity";
(c)
Section
30-16-26
NMSA 1978 "Theft of a credit card".
(3) Financial crimes:
(a) Section
30-16-8
NMSA 1978 "Embezzlement";
(b)
Section
30-16-9 NMSA
1978 "Extortion";
(c) Section
30-16-10 NMSA
1978 "Forgery".
(4) Drug
offenses:
(a) Section
30-31-20
NMSA 1978 "Trafficking of controlled substances";
(b) Section
30-31-23
NMSA 1978 "Possession of controlled substances";
(c) Section
30-31-21
NMSA 1978 "Distribution to a minor";
(d) Section
30-6-3
NMSA 1978 "Contributing to the delinquency of a minor".
(5) Sex crimes:
(a) Section
30-52-1 NMSA
1978 "Human trafficking";
(b)
Section
30-9-11
NMSA 1978 "Criminal sexual penetration";
(c) Section
30-9-12
NMSA 1978 "Criminal sexual contact";
(d) Section
30-9-13
NMSA 1978 "Criminal sexual contact of a minor";
(e) Section
30-6A-3
NMSA 1978 "Sexual exploitation of children";
(f) Section
29-11A-4(P)
NMSA 1978 "Failure to register as required by sex offender registration and
notification act".
(6)
Miscellaneous:
(a) Section
30-7-16(B)
NMSA 1978 "Felon in possession of a firearm";
(b) Section
30-3A-3 NMSA
1978 "Stalking";
(c) Section
30-20-12
NMSA 1978 "Use of telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy, or
offend another".
(7) The
board shall not consider the fact of a criminal conviction as part of an
application for licensure unless the conviction in question is one of the
disqualifying criminal convictions listed in 16.28.4.13 NMAC.
(8) The board shall not deny, suspend or
revoke a license on the sole basis of a criminal conviction unless the
conviction in question is one of the disqualifying criminal convictions listed
in 16.28.4.13 NMAC.
(9) Nothing in
this rule prevents the board from denying an application or disciplining a
licensee on the basis of an individual's conduct to the extent that such
conduct violated the Signed Language Interpreting Practices Act, NMSA 1978,
Sections
61-34-1 to
-17 and the ULA, NMSA 1978, Section
61-1-1
to-36 NMSA 1978, regardless of whether the individual was convicted of a crime
for such conduct whether the crime for which the individual was convicted is
listed as one of the disqualifying criminal convictions listed in 16.28.4.13
NMAC.
(10) In connection with an
application for licensure, the board shall not use, distribute, disseminate, or
admit into evidence at an adjudicatory proceeding criminal records of any of
the following:
(a) an arrest not followed by a
valid conviction;
(b) a conviction
that has been sealed, dismissed, expunged or pardoned;
(c) a juvenile adjudication; or
(d) a conviction for any crime other than the
disqualifying criminal convictions listed in 16.28.4.13 NMAC.
