NMSA 61-23-27.15. Authority to investigate; civil penalties for unlicensed

61-23-27.15. Authority to investigate; civil penalties for unlicensed persons; surveying. (Repealed effective July 1, 2030.) A. The board may investigate and initiate a hearing on a complaint against a person who does not have a license, who is not exempt from the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act and who acts in the capacity of a professional surveyor within the meaning of the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act. A valid license is required for a person to act as a professional surveyor or to solicit or purport to perform work involving the practice of surveying. B. If after the hearing the board determines that based on the evidence the person committed a violation under the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act, it shall, in addition to any other sanction, action or remedy, issue an order that imposes a civil penalty up to seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) per violation. C. In determining the amount of the civil penalty it imposes, the board shall consider: (1) the seriousness of the violation; (2) the economic benefit to the violator that was generated by the violator's commission of the violation; (3) the violator's history of violations; and (4) any other considerations the board deems appropriate. D. A person aggrieved may appeal a decision made or an order issued pursuant to Subsection B of this section to the district court pursuant to Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978. E. Failure to pay a fine levied by the board or to otherwise comply with an order issued by the board pursuant to the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act is a misdemeanor and upon conviction the person shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978. Conviction shall be grounds for further action against the person by the board and for judicial sanctions or relief, including a petition for injunction. History: Laws 2003, ch. 233, § 5; 2012, ch. 46, § 14.